GREEN Lake Action Group spokesman Russell Peucker believes the closure of one of the region’s most popular lakes is extremely disappointing, especially in the middle of summer.
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Horsham Rural City Council announced on Monday that Green Lake would remain closed to all recreational activities after toxic levels of blue-green algae were found in the water.
Council closed the lake on Thursday after the suspected algae outbreak.
Technical services director John Martin said water samples were sent to the laboratory for testing.
He said the results showed the lake had toxic levels of blue-green algae.
Mr Peucker said he hoped the outbreak wouldn’t last long.
“The community relies on Green Lake as our main recreational waterway,” he said.
“The way the seasons have been, it seems every lake in the region is affected by algae at different times and I guess it’s our turn.
“There has been a lot of boats there over the past month because of the warm weather we’ve had, so it’s a shame to close it at this time of the year.
“These things only ever happen over summer though.”
Mr Peucker said warm weather, plus water run-off from farmland caused blue-green algae in the lake.
“I didn’t think this year we had a huge amount of inflows – I wouldn’t think that would be enough to effect the nutrient levels in the lake, but apparently it was,” he said.
Mr Martin said council would continue to monitor the blue-green algae levels on a weekly basis.
“We will let people know as soon as the algae is at a safe level,” he said.
Mr Martin said Green Lake had a history of blue-green algae.
The first algae outbreak at the lake happened in 1990, which was followed by further outbreaks in 1993, 1994 and 1997. Blue-green algae also closed the lake in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
“People who come into contact with the lake should wash affected skin immediately in clean water,” Mr Martin said.
Council operations manager Rob Moir said blue-green algae happened in warm water that was enriched with nutrients like phosphorus or nitrogen.
“It’s fairly common in an agricultural landscape,” he said.
“When it’s warm and windy, the blue-green algae accumulates and becomes visible,” he said.
“There is really nothing we can do about it, other than to test regularly.”
Mr Moir said council would test the water at Green Lake again on Wednesday.
“We anticipate it will stay closed for longer given the weather forecast this week,” he said.
Mr Martin said people should also avoid fishing or yabbying in the lake.
“The toxins build-up in fish, in particular in livers and kidneys, which if eaten can accumulate in people or pets as well,” he said.
