Charlotte, N.Y.--Heavy waves thought should be clear water have been replaced by thick green muck.
"[It's] nothing I want to step in by any means," said Corey Craignolin, a beachgoer visiting Ontario Beach Park.
Algae has begun flowing toward shore earlier than usual according to the Monroe County Health Department.
"The algae itself isn't the problem, it is once it decays and causes bacterial formation," said Larry Staub, Director of Parks for Monroe County.
The bacteria forming is potentially hazardous to the health of those who consume it according to a public health spokesman for the county.
The beach has been open less than a week and it's already been closed due to water conditions once.
In 2011, Monroe County worked with the Army Corp of Engineers to test the water and ways to solve this problem.
Excavating equipment was used to herd algae deposits along the shoreline to its base. A system was developed to suck algae and debris from the lake over the pier and into Genesee River where it is carried away from shore.
Staub said the county has approached federal funding sources in addition to private companies, though Staub declined to say which companies.
The pumping option would cost nearly $400,000 and then cost the county nearly $15,000 a year to run, according to Staub.
Little will change this year, but the county hopes to put a permanent fix in place by 2013.
