(Fremont County, WY) – A harmful cyanobacterial bloom (HCB) recreational use Toxin Advisory has been issued for Boysen Reservoir and Ocean Lake, according to a release issued by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality on August 24.
The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) works cooperatively with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to issue recreational use advisories when cyanobacterial cell densities or cyanotoxin concentrations pose a risk to people engaging in swimming or similar water contact activities in areas where cyanobacterial blooms occur. HCBs may also pose a health risk to animals.
The WDH is working directly with resource management agencies to ensure signs are posted at the reservoir. Additional details regarding advisories and other HCB resources can be found at WyoHCBs.org.
Bloom advisories are issued when a HCB is present and cyanotoxins may be present. Toxin advisories are issued when cyanotoxins exceed recreational thresholds.
Waterbodies under an advisory are not closed since HCBs may only be present in certain areas and conditions can change frequently. Advisories will remain in place until blooms have fully dissipated and cyanotoxin concentrations are below recreational use thresholds identified in Wyoming’s HCB Action Plan.
If you encounter a potential HCB, the Wyoming Department of Health and the Wyoming Livestock Board recommend the following:
- Avoid contact with water in the vicinity of the bloom, especially in areas where cyanobacteria are dense and form scums.
- Do not ingest water from the bloom. Boiling, filtration and/or other treatments will not remove toxins.
- Rinse fish with clean water and eat only the fillet portion.
- Avoid water spray from the bloom.
- Do not allow pets or livestock to drink water near the bloom, eat bloom material, or lick fur after contact.
- If people, pets, or livestock come into contact with a bloom, rinse off with clean water as soon as possible and contact a doctor or veterinarian.
Questions about health effects and recreational use advisories can be directed to Courtney Tillman, Surveillance Epidemiologist, Wyoming Department of Health, at [email protected] or (307) 777-5522. Questions regarding cyanobacteria sampling can be directed to Kelsee Hurshman, Natural Resource Analyst, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, at [email protected] or (307) 777-2073.
Current HCB Recreational Use Advisories*
Waterbody Name Observation or Sampling Location(s) Advisory Type Date Issued Beck Lake East Ramp Bloom 08/03/2023 Boysen Reservoir Brannon Ramp, Cottonwood Bay Toxin 08/24/2023 Brooks Lake South Ramp Bloom 08/03/2023 Buffalo Bill Reservoir Bartlett Beach Bloom 08/18/2023 Festo Lake East Shore Bloom 07/13/2023 Flaming Gorge Reservoir Firehole Beach Bloom 07/19/2023 Gillette Fishing Lake East Dam, North Shore Bloom 08/18/2023 Glendo Reservoir Custer Cove, Cottonwood Campground Bloom 08/09/2023 Goshen Hole Reservoir Northwest Campground Bloom 07/29/2023 West Granite Springs Reservoir West Causeway Bloom 08/09/2023 High Savery Reservoir Dam Bloom 07/12/2023 Lake Viva Naughton East Shore Bloom 07/19/2023 Kemmerer City Reservoir East Access Bloom 08/18/2023 Leazenby Lake South Access Toxin 08/03/2023 Miller Lake Northeast Shore Bloom 08/01/2023 Ocean Lake Long Point Toxin 08/24/2023 Pathfinder Reservoir Bishops Point Toxin 08/10/2023 Saratoga Lake West-Central Shore Toxin 08/10/2023 Seminoe Reservoir Sunshine Beach Toxin 08/10/2023 Sloans Lake South Beach Bloom 08/14/2023 Sodergreen Lake Southeast Access Bloom 08/09/2023 Twin Buttes Lake South-Central Ramp Bloom 08/09/2023 Wheatland Reservoir Number 3 Northwest Causeway Toxin 08/03/2023 Woodruff Narrows Reservoir North Ramp Bloom 08/04/2023
*There may be additional waterbodies with HCBs that WDH and WDEQ are not aware of. Please report potential blooms to WDEQ and HCB-related illnesses to WDH.