Algae warning extended
A blue-green algae warning for Marion Reservoir was continued Thursday for another week.
It is the only body of water in Kansas under an algae warning. Such warnings, issued by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, have been in effect for the reservoir virtually every week during the summer vacation season for several years. Marion County Lake is not affected.
A warning is one step below hazard status, which would require portions of the reservoir to be closed to the public.
Lake visitors and animals should avoid contact with reservoir water and avoid inhaling sprayed or aerosolized reservoir water.
Skin that comes in contract with reservoir water should be washed with clean water as soon as possible.
Areas with visible algae accumulation should be avoided.
Fish still may be eaten, but only the fillet portion and only after the fish have been rinsed with clean water.
Blue-green algae, scientifically known as cyanobacteria, appear as scum on the water.
It’s not the bacteria themselves that are dangerous but rather invisible toxins they emit when they die.
Different types of bacterial emit different levels of toxins. The precise type of bacteria has been determined.
Toxins’ effects can range from mild rashes to vomiting, diarrhea, fever, sore throat, and headache all the way up to potentially lethal damage to the central nervous system from relative rare types of algae.
Last modified June 2, 2023