This article is from page 16 of the 2006-08-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
THE BATHING ban imposed after an algal bloom outbreak in Lake Inchiquin could be lifted this week.
An environmental officer for the council has said that a vet’s examination has revealed there was no link between the death of a dog and the outbreak earlier this month.
The animal was one of two which was thought to have died after drinking water from the lake. But a spokesman for the council’s environmental department said yesterday that a post mortem examination on the dog revealed no link with the bloom.
“A second dog was also said to have died from drinking the water, but that animal wasn’t examined so it’s inconclusive,” the spokesman said.
The bloom was reported even before the recent heatwave, which produced ideal conditions for the algae to multiply.
“But we have had no reports in recent times about a bloom. We will be consulting with the scientists and if there is no toxicity present, we will take down the ‘no bathing’ notice and put up a precautionary notice to warn people to watch out for the bloom instead,” the spokesman said.
A similar procedure is to be put in place in Lough Derg, where another algal bloom forced the council to slap on a bathing ban in recent weeks.
Tests in the last week have shown that the water is clear of toxins which can cause severe skin irritations and even death in animals.
“The precautionary notice is what North Tipperary council has adopted on Lough Derg and that is the path we will be going down,” the spokesman added.
This is the fifth consecutive year that algal bloom has caused bathers to be banned from the waters of Lough Derg, one of the county’s biggest tourist attractions.
The problem starts with phosphates getting into the water system from household waste water and agricultural run-off.
These are super-nutrients for the algae and when they are combined with hot weather and calm water, a bloom occurs.
Business and environmental organisations have expressed concern about the regular outbreaks, pointing to the damage which is being done to the environment and to the tourism industry.