Bay of Quinte water scare downplayed by officials
Toxins in water actually made worse by common fixes
What a juicy story. Juicy because while nobody’s been hurt by it, there is so much info to sink your teeth into as a journalist.
This morning I found myself foggy-headed and trying to make sense of a couple of news releases that weren’t adding up. The gist of the message took me about an hour to uncover, and all the officials I called at 6:30 on a Sunday morning were more than obliging.
Yesterday, a water advisory was issued by the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties health unit. The message was backed up by a brief statement from Belleville’s municipal offices. But the message itself was unclear. In an effort not to confuse or scare anyone, I daresay they did just that.
In the end, it’s a small group of people affected by this alert. As I announced all morning at the radio station, two groups are most affected: (1) anyone who plans to come in contact with the Bay of Quinte ie swimmers, kayakers, canoers, anglers etc and (2) anyone who draws their household water from the infected surface waters of the Bay of Quinte.
How do you know if you’re one of those vulnerable households? At last check (Sunday morning), the algae was hovering between Bayside to the west of Belleville and Point Anne to the east. If that’s you, stop using your water immediately. For everything.
If you draw your water from the bay but don’t see algae along the shoreline (Prince Edward County side dwellers, this could include you), officials advise you contact a professional water treatment specialist – but no one could tell me how to know if that professional is qualified. One thing you should know: the director at the health unit told me the toxins actually get worse if you treat them with chlorine, ultraviolet or boiling – so don’t bother.
Officials aren’t sure what caused the algae to appear, but apparently this blue-green pest is popping up in other parts of the world with more frequency; and they’re crossing their fingers that our first real cold snap will kill the pesky stuff.
