Interior Health says stay out of Wood Lake due to continuing algae bloom

Interior Health has issued an update on its May warning about a dangerous algae bloom on Wood Lake in Lake Country.

"The blue-green algae bloom, which can look like a thick sludge in some parts of the lake, can cause the water to become dangerous to people, pets and livestock very quickly," Interior Health said in a news release issued today, June 4.

Interior Health is advising residents and visitors to not swim, bathe or let their animals go into the water.

READ MORE: Keep pets out of Wood Lake in Lake Country as algae bloom continues: IH

Swimming or drinking algae-bloom affected water can cause headaches, nausea, fever, muscle aches, mouth ulcers, red skin, sore throat, cramps or diarrhea, according to the health authority.

Anyone experiencing any of those symptoms should seek medical help.

Additional information on blue-green algae is available at HealthLinkBC here or the Ministry of Environment’s Algae Watch website here.


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Rob Munro

Rob Munro

Rob Munro has a long history in journalism after starting an underground newspaper in Whitehorse called the Yukon Howl in 1980. He spent five years at the 100 Mile Free Press, starting in the darkroom, moving on to sports and news reporting before becoming the advertising manager. He came to Kelowna in 1989 as a reporter for the Kelowna Daily Courier, and spent the 1990s mostly covering city hall. For most of the past 20 years he worked full time for the union representing newspaper workers throughout B.C. He’s returned to his true love of being a reporter with a special focus on civic politics