Document text
CLEAR Temp: 90 °F Wind: NW at 10 mph Friday, August 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend August 5, 2003 Diamond Lake bloom shows signs of peaking By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune It may be two weeks or more before swimmers and water-skiers are welcomed back to Diamond Lake. Tests conducted recently at the popular fishing lake in the Umpqua National Forest showed some of the highest algae levels since July 1, when health officials banned all water contact other than fishing and boating there. But the fluorescent green hue caused by the Anabaena flos-aquae algae is starting to dissipate, possibly signaling the beginning of the end of the lake’s current water woes. Mikael Jones, an Umpqua Forest hydrologist, said the lake was starting to clear last week. "It looks like the bloom is peaking. That’s encouraging." Advertisement But it might not be enough to get the closures lifted Thursday, when results of water samples taken Monday will be released. Even if algae levels drop to healthier levels, Jones said, Forest Service and Douglas County Health Department officials may opt to keep the current restrictions until a "pattern of improvement" is developed. "We hope it’s positive," Jones said. "(But) we may not lift the restrictions based on one sample." That could leave the lake closed to swimmers and water-skiers until mid-August, a prospect that frustrates those who rely on Diamond Lake having a positive reputation that draws tourists instead of repelling them. At the Diamond Lake Resort, the recreation hub of the area, visitors are steered toward an array of activities: canoeing, trout fishing, mountain-bike riding, lakeside pool swimming, and driving 15 minutes to nearby Lemolo Lake for water- skiing. "It looks like this algae finally is dying off, so we may be coming to an end with this," said Rick Rockholt, the resort’s marketing coordinator. "It’s been absolutely crazy." The water quality problems are a byproduct of the illegal stocking of unwanted tui chubs in the lake in the last decade, most likely by an angler using the non-native chub as live bait. The lake now sports well over 30 million of the tiny chub, which feed heavily on the lake’s zooplankton. Zooplankton typically keep the lake’s algae levels in check, but their absence has allowed algae levels to explode each of the past three summers. Ingestion of the toxins can cause health problems for humans and can be fatal to animals. Swimming and water-skiing bans occurred in 2001 and last year. This year’s bans have dragged on as the algae levels ebb and flow between hot weather — which grows algae — and cool spells. Last week’s heat wave caused algae levels to rise. Water sampled last week at the lake’s southern end sported just 10,000 cells of microscopic algae per milliliter, while the middle of the lake housed 56,000 cells per milliliter. A sample of water last week at the lake’s north end logged 255,000 cells per milliliter. Under guidelines developed by county health officials and the Umpqua Forest, the ban on swimming and wading usually is enacted when levels test above 15,000 cells per milliliter. A ban on boating kicks in at 100,000 cells per milliliter. Jones said the north end’s readings were not causing a big concern because they likely were created by wind blowing a high concentration of algae in one spot. The Forest Service and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife want to draw the lake down and use the chemical rotenone to kill off the chubs. The Forest Service has begun an environmental study on the proposal’s impacts, as well as other potential alternatives. Rockholt said the lingering algae problem "shows how sick this lake is, and how necessary it is to treat the lake with rotenone and get it on its feet again." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times