The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has advised the City of Guthrie that the counts of Blue Green Algae (BGA) are high at Liberty Lake. Now, the City has temporarily halted lake activities.
Swimming and watercraft use are temporally prohibited at the lake.
City officials said their drinking water is not affected by the BGA problem, and is safe to drink.
“All of our other water resources, including the raw water at the plant, are not affected by the high Blue Green Algae counts, and the City is currently pulling its drinking water supply from Guthrie Lake, and has been doing so well before the notification from DEQ,” according to a press release by the City.
DEQ recommends no swimming at Liberty Lake for the time being, as well as keeping pets out of the water.
“They’re confident that this has occurred due to the timing of the rains, run off from surrounding fields, and natural spring algae bloom. The timing of all of these factors has washed high amounts of phosphates into the lake, resulting in the algae bloom,” the release said.
Temporary signage is being placed around the lake.
Liberty Lake activities that are temporarily prohibited:
Swimming/wading by humans or animals
Tubing/water skiing/wakeboarding
Watercraft use which requires the rider/operator to enter the water or has a reasonably high probability of such occurring
Liberty Lake activities that will continue to be offered:
Fishing on banks or by watercraft
Boating
Camping
Hiking/bicycling
Equestrian usage
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