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Klamath Riverkeeper Press Release
Thursday June 26, 2009 For Immediate Release
Contact: Erica Terence, Klamath Riverkeeper, (530) 340-5415, erica@klamathriver.org
Contact: Malena Marvin, Outreach & Science Director, Klamath Riverkeeper, (541) 821-7260
US EPA Warns Against Recreation in Klamath Reservoirs
PacifiCorp’s Reservoirs Posted Toxic As Dam Removal Negotiations Continue
For the fifth year in a row, health officials are posting warning signs on the Klamath River’s Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs due to dangerous blooms of blue-green algae. Water containing toxic algae can pose serious health risks for humans and pets when touched or ingested, and is also known to contaminate the flesh of reservoir game fish.
The announcement comes as dam owner PacifiCorp negotiates a dam removal agreement with the federal government, California, Oregon, and Klamath tribes. “Klamath toxic algae is not going away until the dams do,” said Klamath Riverkeeper Erica Terence. “This ongoing public health threat should put the pressure on negotiators to expedite the removal process, and come up with a deal that protects the public, and Klamath salmon, from harmful blue-green algae.” added Terence. Ratepayer Protection Bill, SB 76, passed the Oregon legislature in June and Governor Kulongoski is expected to sign it by July. This bill creates a $200 million dollar dam removal fund from a ratepayer surcharge, but protects ratepayers by assuring they pay less to remove dams than they would to relicense them.
Many stakeholders are looking to PacifiCorp to fund additional toxic algae research under the final Klamath dam removal agreement. “There’s still a lot we don’t know about the algae. Funding is still needed for studies that help us understand the toxins’ impacts on fish, especially salmon, and how that relates to human health. So far no one has been willing to fund this kind of analysis,” said Klamath Riverkeeper Science Director Malena Marvin.
Large-scale blooms of toxic algae occur when summer sun warms stagnant reservoir water. PacifiCorp has been trying unsuccessfully to curb the blooms since 2005, when scientists with the Karuk Tribe first identified a public health problem. Officials with the California Water Board have publicly stated that removal of PaciCorp’s dams may be the only way to solve the Klamath’s toxic algae problem.
Klamath Riverkeeper has launched several lawsuits aimed at cleaning up the algae, including one that forced the U.S. EPA to list the algal toxin as an official pollutant under the Clean Water Act. In 2009, the Water Board extended this 303(d) listing to cover algae blooms that spill from the reservoirs and contaminate the Klamath for the 170 mile stretch from the dams to the ocean. In 2008, health officials posted all river access points on the mid and lower Klamath River with toxic algae warning signs.
In a statement released last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), Department of Public Health, and the Yurok and Karuk Tribes urged residents and recreational water users of the Klamath River to use caution or avoid getting in the water near these blooms.
More information on toxic algae:
· Recreational exposure to toxic blue-green algae can cause eye irritation, allergic skin rash, mouth ulcer, vomiting, diarrhea, cold and flu-like symptoms, tingling, headaches, numbness and shaking. Liver failure, nerve damage and death have occurred in rare situations where large amounts of contaminated water were directly ingested.
· The algal blooms look like green, blue-green, white or brown foam, scum or mats floating on the water.
· The algae species responsible for the blooms behind PacifiCorp’s Klamath dams is Microcystis aeruginosa which releases a toxin called microcystin .
· Toxic algae species are also causing public health problems behind the Rogue River’s Lost Creek Dam 60 miles north of the Klamath River.
California’s Statewide Guidance on Harmful Algal Blooms recommends the following:
· Avoid wading and swimming in water containing visible blooms or water containing algal scums or mats;
· If no algal scums or mats are visible, you should still carefully watch young children and warn them not to swallow the water;
· Do no drink, cook or wash dishes with untreated surface water under any circumstances;
· People should limit or avoid eating fish from waters which previously tested positive for an algal toxin as the risk to human health is being evaluated by public health authorities.
· Take care that pets and livestock do not drink the water or swim through heavy scums or mats, nor lick their fur after going in the water;
· Get medical treatment right away if you think that you, your pet, or livestock might have been poisoned by blue-green algae toxins. Be sure to alert the medical professional to the possible contact with blue-green algae.
With proper precautions to avoid water contact and when eating fish from the reservoirs, people can still visit Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs and the river areas and enjoy camping, hiking, biking, canoeing, picnicking or other recreational activities excluding direct contact with the algal bloom scum. For more information, please visit:
Klamath Riverkeeper:
http://www.klamathriver.org/dams-algae.html
World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 3rd Edition: www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/gdwq3/en/index.html
California Department of Public Health:
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/environhealth/water/Pages/Bluegreenalgae.aspx
State Water Resources Control Board
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/bluegreen_algae/
National Center for Disease Control:
http://www.cdc.gov/hab/cyanobacteria/facts.htm
Siskiyou County Public Health Department:
http://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/phs/
(530) 841-2100
County of Humboldt, Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Branch
http://co.humboldt.ca.us/health/envhealth/
(707) 445-6215
Yurok Tribe Real Time Water Quality and BGA Data
http://exchange.yuroktribe.nsn.us/lrgsclient/stations/stations.html
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