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Klamath Riverkeeper Press Release | For Immediate Release
Contact: Erica Terence, Klamath Riverkeeper, office: (530) 627-3311, cell: (530)340-5415, erica@klamathriver.org
August 20, 2009
Toxic Algae Pollution Spreads Downriver, Again
Public Warnings Posted at River Access Points From Iron Gate Reservoir to Happy Camp
Klamath, CA—For the third year in a row, toxic algae caused by water heating and stagnating behind Klamath dams has spread downriver and is threatening Siskiyou County’s recreational economy and public safety. People exposed to water from the Klamath River or its reservoirs could be at risk for skin rashes, liver poisoning, tumor growth and even death due to heavy blooms of toxic blue-green algae, the US Environmental Protection Agency warned again this year.
This week, the EPA's Klamath Blue Green Algae Working Group posted warning signs about the hazards the algae species Microcystis aeruginosa poses to people along 90 miles of river where algae levels have passed public safety thresholds. Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs were posted hazardous due to toxic algae earlier this summer.
The postings caution that children and pets are particularly susceptible to the toxin released by the algae because of their small body size and their increased likelihood to ingest algae-polluted water. Water-contact activities such as swimming and water skiing are also considered dangerous, while fishing isn't as risky, the postings said. Still, the working group said that spending long periods of time in soaked fishing gear worn in the Klamath could be unhealthy.
"This public health threat has become an annual occurrence and we’re concerned it could scare boaters, and their tourism dollars, away from the Klamath,” said Klamath Riverkeeper Erica Terence.
Klamath Riverkeeper is supporting baseline public health studies to track the algae’s potential impacts on Tribal people downriver, whose frequency of exposure over relatively long periods of time increases their risk of pollution-related health problems. “We still have a lot to learn about how toxic algae affects the health of our ecosystem and our communities, and what the cumulative impacts might be." added Terence.
The Klamath’s neon green algae scums were first detected by the Karuk Tribe at levels thousands of times what the World Health Organization classifies as a moderate health risk.
Klamath Riverkeeper, the Karuk Tribe and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens' Associations began applying legal pressure in 2007 to dam-owner PacifiCorp and the California EPA to regulate and reduce presence of the toxic algae in the Klamath River.
The coalition’s lawsuit forced the EPA to list the reservoirs on the Klamath as impaired by microcystin in 2008, and this year the North Coast Regional Water Board added the Klamath River from the reservoirs to the Trinity confluence to the EPA’s list of officially polluted waters. These listings trigger regulatory requirements for pollution limits and cleanup plans, and threaten PacifiCorp's ability to renew operating licenses for its Klamath dams.
Another lawsuit brought by Klamath Riverkeeper and others that would force PacifiCorp to comply with the dams’ waste discharge requirements for toxic algae is still pending.
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