Recreational use advisory for Boysen Reservoir, other locations

The Wyoming Department of Health has issued harmful cyanobacterial bloom (HCB) recreational use advisories for Boysen Reservoir, Buffalo Bill Reservoir, Fontenelle Reservoir, Keyhole Reservoir, Viva Naughton Reservoir, and Wheatland Reservoir #3.

The Wyoming Department of Health is working directly with resource management agencies to ensure that signs are posted at all waterbodies with advisories. Additional details regarding advisories as well as other HCB resources can be found at WyoHCBs.org.

WDH issues recreational use advisories when cyanobacterial cell densities or cyanotoxin concentrations pose a risk to people engaging in swimming or similar water contact activities in areas where cyanobacterial blooms occur. HCBs may also pose a health risk to animals. Bloom advisories are issued when a HCB is present and toxins may be present. Toxin advisories are issued when cyanotoxins exceed recreational thresholds. Waterbodies under an advisory are not closed since HCBs may only be present in certain areas and conditions can change frequently. Advisories will remain in place until blooms have fully dissipated and cyanotoxin concentrations are below recreational use thresholds.

If you encounter a potential HCB, the Wyoming Department of Health and Wyoming Livestock Board recommend the following:

Avoid contact with water in the vicinity of the bloom, especially in areas where cyanobacteria are dense and form scums; Do not ingest water from the bloom. Boiling, filtration and/or other treatments will not remove toxins; Rinse fish with clean water and eat only the fillet portion; Avoid water spray from the bloom; Do not allow pets or livestock to drink water near the bloom, eat bloom material, or lick fur after contact; If people, pets, or livestock come into contact with a bloom, rinse off with clean water as soon as possible and contact a doctor or veterinarian.

This is a common late summer event in hot areas on still waters. These blooms have begun to show up on other lakes around the state and country. Though hazardous, and deadly to dogs, they are a natural event and are not caused by farming or industry. Accurate answers can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/harmful-algal-blooms

Up-to-date information can be found at WyoHCBs.org.