QUILCENE – Jefferson County public health officials closed Lake Leland to all forms of water recreation on Friday because of a high level of toxic bacteria.
Residents along the lake’s shore were warned not to drink the water.
Leland joins two other lakes in Jefferson County in being closed because of toxic bacteria from blue-green algae.
Both Anderson Lake, a 70-acre trout lake within a state park eight miles south of Port Townsend, and Gibbs Lake, near Chimacum, remain closed to water recreation, although the parks surrounding them are open for use.
Tests of water samples taken from Leland Lake on Tuesday showed results on Friday of 15 parts per billion of microcystin, a hepatoxin that can cause liver damage and gastrointestinal distress through ingestion, and “swimmer’s itch” through skin contact, said Mike McNickle, director of Jefferson County Environmental Health.
His department recommends closure of lakes when toxic levels reach more than one part per billion.
The algae bloom is unseasonably late. Blue-green algae tends to grow during warm weather.
Health officials have said they don’t know why the algae grows in Jefferson County lakes, the source of the nutrients fueling algae growth or the reason that benign blue-green algae will begin producing toxins.
Algae blooms, which occur naturally, are fed by an overload of nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorous. Possible sources of such nutrients include fertilizer or human or animal waste.
The toxic bacteria found last week in Lake Leland poses an especially high risk for a handful of lake residents who siphon their drinking water from the lake, McNickle said.
Residents on the shores of the lake north of Quilcene were informed of the toxicity on Friday, and have been told not to drink the water.
The liver toxin can cause liver disease even when drinking small amounts of water.
Signs were posted on Friday to warn the public of the toxic algae and prohibiting lake recreation of any kind.
