Cyanobacterial bloom reported at Buffalo Bill Reservoir

Posted 8/24/21

The Wyoming Department of Health is cautioning recreationists to be aware of a harmful cyanobacterial bloom (HCB) near the Bartlett Lane access area at the Buffalo Bill Reservoir.

The Wyoming …

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Cyanobacterial bloom reported at Buffalo Bill Reservoir

Posted

The Wyoming Department of Health is cautioning recreationists to be aware of a harmful cyanobacterial bloom (HCB) near the Bartlett Lane access area at the Buffalo Bill Reservoir.

The Wyoming Department of Health is working directly with resource management agencies to ensure that signs are posted at all waterbodies with advisories. 

The department issues recreational use advisories when cyanobacterial cell densities or cyanotoxin concentrations pose a risk to people engaging in swimming or similar activities in areas where cyanobacterial blooms occur. HCBs may also pose a health risk to animals. 

Bloom advisories — such as the one issued Thursday at Buffalo Bill Reservoir — are issued when a HCB is present and toxins may be present. More serious 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,” the department advised. However, the 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.

Across the state, there were a total of 14 waterbodies with bloom advisories in place; portions of Boysen Reservoir, Fontenelle Reservoir, Keyhole Reservoir, Viva Naughton Reservoir and Wheatland Reservoir #3 all joined the list last week as well.

When encountering a potential HCB, the Wyoming Department of Health and 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 courtney.tillman@wyo.gov or (307) 777-5522. Questions regarding cyanobacteria sampling can be directed to Kelsee Hurshman, Natural Resource Analyst, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, at kelsee.hurshman1@wyo.gov or (307) 777-2073.

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