In-depth testing rules out presence of petroleum products, hydrocarbons in Grand Lake, N.S.
The results of more in-depth water testing at Grand Lake, N.S. has ruled out the presence of petroleum products and hydrocarbons and has once again shown blue-green algae to be the issue.
Julie Towers, the deputy minister of environment and climate change, recommends residents who get their water from the lake continue to find an alternative water source for the foreseeable future.
"We recommend drilled wells that are properly constructed, dug wells that are properly constructed," explained Elizabeth Kennedy, an environment and climate change water quality specialist. "If municipal water is available or a public water supply is available and otherwise, an alternative water supply."
Now that blue-green algae has been detected in the lake, Kennedy says there is no way to get rid of it. She says a number of samples were taken at various locations around the lake and some did come back negative, however that doesn't mean there aren't toxins present.
"It just demonstrates that it’s about the concentration and the location that you're taking the sample in. That doesn't necessarily mean that there are no toxins present or there won't be toxins present where you choose to use the lake," said Kennedy.
Towers says if people do choose to swim or boat on the lake, they are doing so at their own risk.
"Everyone is going to have to make their choices about what level of risk they are comfortable with," explained Kennedy.
No signs of contamination were found in nearby Fish Lake. Officials say there is a high probability of more algae blooms throughout the summer.
Anyone who sees an algae bloom on any lake in the province should contact their regional office of the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.