Alberta Health Services has issued a health advisory for Enchant after Cyanobacteria was identified in the water at Enchant Municipal Park.
Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, occurs naturally on water that can appear like scum, grass clippings, fuzz, or globs on the surface of water and can be blue-green, greenish-brown, brown, or a pinkish red colour and can sometimes smell musty or grassy.
AHS is advising residents living near the shores of the lake and those who visit to take the proper precautions including avoiding all contact with the algae blooms, should contact take place, wash immediately, do not swim or wade in the water or allow pets to swim or wade in the water where the bloom is visible, and don’t use any of the contaminated water to water edible plants.
Residents and visitors are also being reminded that they should never drink or cook with untreated water from any recreational body of water, including the municipal park. Boiling of water will not remove any of the algae toxins.
Those who may come in contact with the algae or who ingest any water may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea and vomiting and/or diarrhea. Symptoms can appear within a few hours and will go away after one or two days.
AHS says that water at Enchant Municipal Park that does not have a visible algae bloom can still be sued for recreational purposes even with the health advisory in place.
