Toxic algae found at four Thurston County lakes

Thurston County is warning the public to stay out of four of its lakes because of a toxic algae bloom.

According to the county’s Public Health and Social Services Department, the microcystin toxin levels are above average at Lake Lawrence, Offutt Lake, Pattison Lake, and Clear Lake.

Officials ask that you take precautions at this time:

• Do not drink the lake water.
• Avoid contact with water containing algae.
• Do not swim or water ski in areas with algae.
• Keep pets and livestock away from areas where algae blooms are present.
• When fishing, use only catch-and-release of any fish caught during an algae bloom.
• Do not eat fish that come from the lake during an algae bloom.
• Avoid areas of scum when boating.

Algae blooms can come in a series of colors, ranging from blue and green to orange and red. They are often foamy and can sometimes look like spilled paint or scum.

It is not possible to know if an algal bloom is harmful just by looking at it. This is why the county regularly tests the water.

Tests will be done weekly on the aforementioned lakes until health officials get two consecutive weeks of samples that are deemed safe.