Hopes Raised, Then Dashed For Tonetta Lake Beach Opening

SOUTHEAST, NY — While town recreation officials were excited Wednesday night to announce that Southeast's public beach at Tonetta Lake would reopen Thursday morning, their hopes were dashed by a further report from the Health Department.

Wednesday's 8:13 p.m. announcement said "The Department of Health has cleared Tonetta Lake Beach to reopen."

However, Thursday morning, recreation officials reported "A sample the Health Department took on Tuesday afternoon came back cleared for blue-green algae but unfortunately showed fecal matter in the water. They are coming again today to test again. We will keep you updated. Thank you for your continued patience."

This happened before, in late July, a week after the beach was closed due to toxic algae.

Hazardous algae blooms, or HABs, are more prevalent in Putnam than elsewhere in the Hudson Valley.