Syracuse, N.Y. — The drinking water systems for Auburn and Syracuse this week saw the highest levels this year of algae toxins coming into their treatment systems.
Test results show, however, that none of the toxins reached tap water in either water system.
Cayuga County said it saw the highest levels of toxins so far this year in water drawn Tuesday from Owasco Lake, which supplies drinking water to the city of Auburn and surrounding towns.
The levels of microcystins were 1.2 parts per billion, said county Health Director Kathleen Cuddy.
“Although this was the highest detection in the raw water so far this season, the treatment system at the city of Auburn continues to successfully remove the toxins,” Cuddy said in a news release issued today. “No toxins were detected in the samples taken of the treated drinking water.”
Tests conducted Monday by the Onondaga County Health Department and posted online show 0.52 ppb in water in an intake pipe on Skaneateles Lake. That, too, is the highest level recorded this year.
Those toxins were detected in the city of Syracuse intake pipe in the lake, but tests showed no microcystins were detected by the time the water reached the gatehouse on the northern shore of the lake.
In high doses, microcystins can sicken people and kill pets. The health advisory for infants and small children is 0.6 ppb of microcystins for 10 days, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. For adults, it’s 1.6 ppb, also for 10 days. That applies to water actually coming out of the tap.
Auburn built a special filtration system last year to keep the toxins from reaching drinking water. Syracuse does not filter water from Skaneateles Lake, but it adds chlorine into the intake pipes, which kills microcystins.
The toxins are produced by a type of bacteria called cyanobacteria, often referred to as blue-green algae. The algae blooms tend to peak in September. Late last month, nearly 100 water bodies in New York had harmful algae blooms. That number dropped to 77 last week, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
No comments:
Post a Comment