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Diamond Lake restrictions ease By MARK FREEMAN Swimmers, water-skiers and wading anglers could return to Diamond Lake later this week if toxicology tests continue to show the lake is purging itself of harmful toxins triggered by an August algae bloom. Results of algae samples taken Aug. 16 and 20 show the tiny plants apparently are no longer producing the neurotoxin anatoxin-a, which can irritate human skin and harm pets who ingest it. A ban on boating and fishing was lifted Friday night. Swimming and wading remain prohibited until the Forest Service is sure the toxins, which can remain in the water for seven to 10 days, have dissipated. Officials are hopeful the lake will be up to full speed when ushering out the summer vacation season over Labor Day weekend. "We'd like to have it open by Wednesday or Thursday," said Liz Stevenson-Shaw, of the Umpqua National Forest. "We're trying to get this lifted before Labor Day. But we can't do that if it's not safe." Resort owners along the high Cascade lake hope vacationers won't let a 10-day closure to swimming and boating taint their attitudes toward this popular summer getaway for residents of Medford, Roseburg and other locales. "Having the negative test tells me everything's fine," said Steve Koch, president and general manager of the Diamond Lake Resort, which is the hub of the lake's recreational activities. "We need people to be intelligent enough to know there's no (health) problem here," Koch said. Those who do venture to the lake will find camping and RV parking space and potentially excellent sport-fishing for rainbow trout, which currently can be fished for out of a boat, Koch said. If the swimming and wading bans are lifted, water-skiers can operate during midday in the warm, relatively shallow waters, and anglers can wade the shore-lines or fish out of float tubes. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife may stock another batch of large rainbow trout in the lake to bring back anglers who once made Diamond Lake the state's most heavily fished trout lake. The closure is the latest in Diamond Lake's long list of woes since the non-native tui chubs were illegally re-introduced into the lake in 1992. The chubs have since ballooned to more than 30 million, eating the lake's zooplankton and squeezing out the trout stocked there for anglers. With zooplankton numbers down, blue-green algae called anabaena exploded and began releasing enough toxins to cause the Forest Service to close the lake to swimming Aug. 10, and then to all contact with water Aug. 17. Cool weather and some winds helped oxygenate the water and drop its temperature eight degrees last week. The algae tests, which are done only at Wright State University in Ohio, show no presence of the toxins in the algae, Stevenson-Shaw said. "Now we're looking at whether there may be a rebloom (of algae) and allowing enough time for any toxins released into the water to dissipate," Stevenson-Shaw said. Koch said the lake likely will not suffer another algae bloom this year because the hot August weather seems to have dissipated. "It looks like we got lucky," Koch said. "The weather might have saved us." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com |
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