They also tend spend more time in water and are more likely to swallow it. Prolonged exposure can damage the liver.Ĭhildren are at greater risk because of their lower body weight. Swallowing or inhaling the water can cause headaches, fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. In people, blue-green algae exposure when swimming can cause itchy, irritated eyes and skin. Keep children and pets away from algae mats. Animals are attracted to their odour and may try to eat them. On the shoreline, they may appear brown or grey once they have dried. The algae mats look like clumps of vegetation and can appear black, brown or dark green in the water. There may also be algae mats at the bottom of clear shallow areas of lakes and rivers or on the shoreline. They often smell musty or grassy when healthy and like ammonia when decomposing. Sometimes they look like a thick scum on the surface. Blue-green algae blooms can look like fine grass clippings in the water, spilled paint or pea soup. Identifying blue-green algaeĭespite the name, blue-green algae can be turquoise, green, brown, red, white or mixes of these colours. You can also look for signs posted near provincial beaches. The Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service shares notices about water quality and beach closures on social media. Supervised beaches in Halifax Regional Municipality monitor for blue-green algae and publish advisories online. In the case of public drinking water supplies, an inspector will visually confirm the presence of blue-green algae and work directly with the water supply owner.
The Department of Environment and Climate Change publishes a list of potential blue-green algae blooms online and shares new reports on social media. Report it to your local Department of Environment and Climate Change office or call 1-87. If you think you see blue-green algae, you should treat it as potentially toxic.
Once blue-green algae appears, it’s more likely to reappear in the same body of water. If you think you see blue-green algae, don’t touch it, swim or play in it, or drink the water.īlue-green algae tends to develop when a period of hot, dry weather is followed by a heavy rainfall. It’s becoming more common because of warmer temperatures and more intense storms caused by climate change.
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