Testing the water at Lake Minnewasta is done daily, according to Morden's Lake Minnewasta Campground Manager, Brian Thiessen. The recent discovery of algae bloom as now put the lake on an Algae Advisory notice.
Thiessen explained this is not something out of the ordinary.
"An Algae Advisory has been posted for Lake Minnewasta. We monitor algae blooms on a daily basis and we know we are going to get them; it happens every August. So, we watch out very closely for that. and we report these to the province as soon as they're spotted."
He shared more on the process for making the advisory decision.
"I notified them on the second regarding a bloom. The following day, the bloom had receded, and then again on the 8th, we reported a bloom and they came out and tested the water, and our Cyanobacteria cell counts were elevated, which means our first level advisory is put in place. Which means don't swim where it's green. If you happen to come in contact with it, we just encourage you to shower after, and of course, don't let your pets drink where it's green."
Beach goers are still encouraged to enjoy everything the lake has to offer, Thiessen assured the public, the lake will be monitored, but daily levels will fluctuate.
"Being that it's just your first level advisory, we're not closing the beach. We'll keep monitoring the bloom and it will come and go up as the days depending on the direction of the winds and what the weather itself does, so we'll still have good beach days and we'll have some days that won't be as good."
Deputy Manager of Operations, Santokh Randawa, said in a statement, the City is still waiting for research authorization from the Pest Management Regulatory Authority (PMRA) to use the lake as a trial site for an algae Sonic Treatment System, since the application was sent in spring of this year. He remains hopeful to be approved this fall with installation to take place next year.
