Blue-green algae: natural or man-made menace? 

Water board to tour Klamath, Shasta, Scott rivers, make recommendations. Public encouraged to weigh in.

By Phil Hayworth
Pioneer Press Staff Writer

Pioneer Press

Fort Jones, CA 530-468-5355

mailto:pioneerp@sisqtel.net

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Page W1, Column 1

Is blue-green algae a threat to water quality in the Montague Irrigation District or is it naturally occurring?

Klamath Forest Alliance and river basin resident Felice Pace thinks it might be a threat and is requesting the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board - which monitors water quality in counties such as Humbolt, Mendocino and Siskiyou  County - to order the Montague Irrigation District, operator of Dwinnell Reservoir, to report levels of waste discharged or to issue waste discharge requirements.

The water board will be in Yreka this week  on a two-day visit for a close-up look at Pace's assertion. They'll hear from area residents and tour the county, including Scott Valley .

Pace asserts that algae and acid levels are ignored in the current Shasta River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan, the tool used to identify, quantify and control the sources of pollution within a body of water. He asserts that the acidity and algae could threaten the district's water quality.

While some say Pace is wrong, the Environmental Protection Agency recently listed blue-green algae  on the second Contaminant Candidate List.  Pace asserts blue-green algae produces hepatoxins and menaces the quality of the Shasta and Klamath rivers.

But the California Department of Health Services determined that blue-green algae are photosynthetic microscopic bacteria that occur naturally in surface waters. However, they admit that some blooms of algae release toxins that can pose risks to humans, pets, livestock and wildlife, and cause rashes, skin irritation, allergic reactions and gastrointestinal upset.

At high levels, more adverse health effects such as liver toxicity, tumor growth, serious illness and death can occur, the state agency reported.

The Siskiyou County Public Health department in 2006  reported that the presence of blue-green algae in a water body does not necessarily mean toxins are always present.

Residents are encouraged to attend the board meeting Wednesday, July 25, at 8:30 a.m. at the Yreka Community Center in main room at 810 N. Oregon St .

The board tour begins Thursday, July 26, at the Tree House Motor Inn in Mount Shasta , visiting sites in Lake Shastina , Scott Valley , Don Meamber Ranch and others.

"The tour is for the board to get on the ground and see for themselves and not make decisions based on what people like Pace are telling them," said Marcia Armstrong, Scott Valley 's representative on the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors.

She said the board will also be touring the City of Etna 's salmon bypass project. The board oversees projects like these, which are funded by the state and are the result of joint efforts by counties like Siskiyou and Humbolt. But the amount of time and effort, and bureaucratic hurdles for projects like these are sometimes not worth it, Armstrong said.

She described the most recent joint effort of the counties in the North Coast alliance as "such a nightmare that I doubt anyone here will do it again."

She said Humbolt County   -- the lead county in the alliance -- could get stuck with the bill for projects in Siskiyou and other counties. She said the state will reimburse them, but only after all the counties' water projects are completed.

But she said that complaints like Pace's mean longer project delays. She said the Water Quality Control Board staff will be investigating Pace's blue-green algae complaint, but hopes they come to the conclusion that  the algae is a "naturally occurring" phenomena.

For more information about the Water Board or to download an agenda and copies of resolutions, visit the Water Board's site at www.waterboards.ca.gov.

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