Sodus Point, N.Y. - They are like floating rafts of neon blue and green surrounded by white foam. The strange site was first seen in the
Shaker Heights area of Sodus Point Wednesday morning.
“It kind of looked like a nasty oil spill,” says Ken David.
Before he left for work Wednesday, David could see through the water to the sandy lake bottom along his dock. When he arrived home at 5 p.m., that had changed. “Now it looks like really dirty dishwater and its starting to get some foam on top of it,” he said.
“I’m not going in that water,” he said.
Blue-green algae thrive in warm, weedy conditions. Because spring temperatures were high and the water levels were low, weeds grew early along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. More boaters have been on the lake this season as well.
“People will get [their boat propellers] caught up in the weeds and back off and it ends up being a bed for algae to grow on,” said Michael Walker of the Wayne County Soil and Water department.
The NY Health Department cautions people and pets not to drink or swallow large amounts of the water but says it’s not otherwise harmful to swimmers. However Bayside Beach on Sodus Point has been closed as a precaution.
Along the lake Thursday, large weeding machines plowed through the growth. Crews have been working ten-hour days to stay ahead of the weed problem. As long as the weather stays warm, conditions are perfect for blue-green algae to spread.
It will likely die out when the lake cools down in the fall, but property owners remain concerned.
“If it’s going to be something that’s reccurring, property values are going to drop,” Ken David said.
