Sea lions and dolphins have been washing up sick or dead on Southern California beaches, poisoned by eating fish containing a dangerous neurotoxin. It’s the result of a harmful algae bloom, a natural phenomenon that turns water blue, bright green, brown or red, and occurs mostly in the summer and fall.
An algae bloom prompted city officials to post caution signs at its Lower Otay Reservoir.
The City of San Diego advises the public to not expose their skin to the water while the cautionary alert is in effect.
City of San Diego residents reached out to us two weeks ago saying their water “tastes like dirt.”
CBS 8 worked to get an answer from the city. We were told the change in the water’s taste and smell was expected to be gone within a few days.
Residents in North Park said their water is still tasting and smelling strange.
The California State Water Resources Control Board Friday urged people and their pets to avoid the water in the Salton Sea due to a toxic algae outbreak.
Officials said that patches of toxic cyanobacteria have been discovered at numerous sites in the sea, and a dog recently died after swimming in the water.
The Vallecitos Water District received two awards for its innovative use of technology to reduce algae blooms at Mahr Reservoir, it was announced Thursday. The district received the “Excellence in Action” national award from the WateReuse Association and the “Innovation and Resiliency” state award from the California Association of Sanitation Agencies for its use of an ultrasound technology to address water quality at the Stanley A. Mahr Reservoir with a reduced need for chemical treatment.
An innovative process that uses naturally occurring bacteria to remove nitrate from contaminated groundwater has received approval from California’s State Water Board as a treatment method.
The validation stems from a recent pilot study of the Hall BioProcess™ by MIH Water Treatment, Inc. and the San Antonio Water Company in Upland, California.
Public health officials are urging boaters, swimmers and recreational water users to be on the lookout for hazardous blue-green algae blooms as warm temperatures persist.
San Joaquin County Environmental Health Department officials said in a news release Monday that staff have posted advisory signs at local marinas warning people to stay out of the water where toxic algae is present.
Summertime means fun in the water, but as temperatures increase, algal blooms can grow in freshwater and marine ecosystems. Some algae are natural and life-giving, while others are the result of life out of balance and can have harmful effects. Consisting of bacteria and tiny plankton, they arise quickly and alter the ecosystem by consuming available oxygen, killing fish.
Residents of a town in central California won’t have water for several days after the town’s water treatment plant became clogged with algae, officials said. The water outage in Dos Palos started Monday, when the city declared a water emergency and urged the town’s 5,000 residents to use only boiled tap water for drinking and cooking to avoid stomach or intestinal illness.
For the last two weeks, an algae bloom has dazzled crowds and lit up waves in Southern California. But now, scientists say it’s turning deadly for some fish, and they want to know why.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
