With temperatures rising for the oncoming summer, many shutdowns due to the toxic blue-green algae has made for a tough time finding a safe spot to swim in the region – with one of the most recent shutdowns at Cunard Pond Beach in Halifax. Elizabeth Montgomery, a water resource specialist with the Halifax Regional Municipality , said what we’ve come to know as blue-green algae isn’t actually algae at all; it’s a bacteria called cyanobacteria. “It’s naturally occurring in our water bodies here, but when the conditions are right, the water temperatures are right, when there’s enough nutrients for blue-green algae to eat it can form what would be called blooms which is what we’re seeing at Cunard Pond Beach right now,” said Montgomery in an interview with CTV’s Ana Almeida on Friday.
Montgomery said the blooms are dangerous as they are toxic, and to avoid the water if you see signs of them. “What you’re looking for when you’re looking for a bloom is that classic kind of green water I’m sure folks are thinking of. It can also look like spilled paint, grass clippings, or in some cases an oil slick.
If you see something in the water you’re not sure it’s just best to stay out,” she said. Blue-green algae tends to appear throughout the summer due to the hot weather, but Montgomery said it’s actually almost always in the water, we just can’t see it. “It needs to be a certain water temperature, warm enough basically, for these blooms to grow big.
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