Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) is alerting residents of Hyde Park, Boston about an algae bloom in Sprague Pond, which has been temporarily closed to the public.
Environmental Science Fellow Paul Hanbury with the Neponset River Watershed Association first documented a cyanobacteria algae bloom in the pond last week.
Cyanobacteria algae is a blue-green algae that grows rapidly in bodies of water and produces toxins that are harmful to people, animals and the environment. The algae bloom in Sprague Pond created a green murky sheen and killed several fish in the water, according to Hanbury.
Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
“Certainly not something we’ve seen here ever before,” Neponset River Watershed Association Executive Director Ian Cooke said. “This is usually a pretty clean and clear body of water,”
According to Cooke, seeing an algae bloom during the winter months is quite unusual as it typically occurs during the warmer, summer months.
“What we suspect happened here is that the pond turned over, it liberated that extra fertilizer, but it was sunny enough and warm enough for little critters to using that fertilizer to start growing,” he said.
Cooke added that temperature is “fundamental” to the ecosystem and wildlife, and that an imbalance could cause “unintended and unexpected consequences,” like this algae bloom.
The Massachusetts’s Department of Public Health (DPH) has been monitoring the algae levels in the pond. DPH will need conduct two rounds of laboratory analysis of the pond with samples collected a week apart once the bloom has dissipated to determine if the advisory can be lifted.
Meanwhile, the City of Boston is advising residents to:
- Avoid contact with the water
- Keep pets away from the water
- Avoid sighing and other activities in or near the water.
For more information, visit the City of Boston’s website here.
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.
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