They should also never let pets go in the water, drink the water, or eat scum on the shore. This means that people should stay out of the water entirely, not touch scum in the water or on the shore, or eat the fish and shellfish caught here. In eastern Contra Costa, for example, multiple locations at Discovery Bay had been issued a Danger advisory as of July 27. To help people recreate safely, the map also provides a landmark where the bloom was seen, the advisory level, and when it was last updated. (Map by State Water Resources Control Board) HAB Incident Reports Map + Reporting a Bloom HAB incidents report map. The State Water Board records these HAB incidents and updates a HAB map to show where algal blooms are, and when they were spotted. The data is admittedly limited, as it comes from individuals reporting suspicious blooms as well as from some agencies like the East Bay Regional Parks District, which has a comprehensive water sampling and monitoring program. The Water Board’s Freshwater and Estuarine Harmful Algal Bloom Program (FHAB) estimates that there were 300 reports of HABs in 2020 and more than 600 in 2021. If you’re worried about recreating near regional water sources, you aren’t alone. “That’s why we call them blooms - because it’s something that is microscopic and in the background, and then something triggers it to grow in density to the extent that they outcompete other organisms and skew the dynamics of the system,” Marisa Van Dyke, Senior Environmental Scientist at California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board), says. Cyanobacteria, the predominant organisms that proliferate in nuisance algal blooms in freshwater ecosystems like rivers and lakes, are the foundation of freshwater food chains, but become harmful when they take over in high volumes, and when the blooms are dominated by toxin-producing cyanobacteria. Not all blooms are toxic, however, and there is no way to tell whether it is just by looking: We don’t yet fully understand the conditions that lead cyanobacteria to produce toxins.
Harmful algal blooms are most common from late May through October in parts of California, and the warnings range from staying away from algae or scum if swimming to staying out of the water entirely. Many reservoirs that store drinking water have also been impacted. HABs are increasing in incidence, duration, and toxicity statewide and so are their health impacts on humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. As the 1970 Mungo Jerry hit put it “In the summertime, when the weather is fine, We go fishing or go swimming in the sea.”īut all of these recreational spots have had advisories for harmful algal blooms (HABs) or toxic algal mats in July this year.
Kayaks floating along the shoreline at Big Break, vacationers lounging at Niles Beach, adventurers tubing the Russian River, and fishers hanging lines off the pier at Lake Temescal. Summers in the Bay Area are an invitation to water.
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