Environment

County: Algal blooms found in Laurel Lake

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The Suffolk County Department of Health is advising residents to keep their pets — and, for those young’uns looking for a chilly swim — children out of Laurel Lake after a blue-green algal bloom was found at the lake recently by Stony Brook University professors.

According to the DOH, the algae — technically known as cyanobacteria — is naturally present in lakes and streams in low numbers. However they can become abundant, forming larger booms that “produce scums on the surface of the water or may cause the water to take on a paint-like appearance.”

The health department advises that contact with such water should be avoided and if contact is made, should be rinsed off with clean water immediately.

The presence of the bacteria isn’t exactly uncommon in the area; it’s been found at Lake Maratooka each of the past two summers. It has persisted at Wickapogue Pond in Southampton for years, according to the DOH.

For more information about the bloom, click here.