Federal Way staff spot possible toxic algae on North, Steel lakes
Published 6:33 pm Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Surface Water Management staff observed a possible blue-green algae bloom on North Lake Monday.
City staff submitted a water sample to the Department of Ecology’s Freshwater Algae Control Program to test for toxicity. The city will provide an update when the results become available.
In the meantime, as a standard precaution, city staff recommended that people should not swim in or near areas containing a visible scum, or allow small pets to drink algae impacted water.
Two weeks ago, city staff were also notified of a possible algae bloom on Steel Lake.
Staff submitted a sample from that lake to the Department of Ecology as well and also urged people not to swim in contaminated areas of Steel Lake.
While the test results for Steel Lake showed that there are no detectable levels of toxins, the caution sign remains in place due to the possibility of changing lake conditions due to the warm weather, city staff said.
