In October, it was discovered that there were areas of our City Lake that had what was assumed to be blue green algal bloom in it. Out of an abundance of caution, the city closed the lake for use and began working with the Missouri Department of Conservation (DOC), the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MO-DNR), and Blue Valley Laboratories. Testing was performed of the lake by Blue Valley Laboratories. It was confirmed that there was some blue green algae growth, however the cyanobacteria toxin levels were significantly lower than the allowable threshold for human recreation set forth under guidelines of the EPA. Test results were forwarded to both MO-DNR and DOC. Following a number of conversations, all parties involved concluded that opening the lake back up to use of fishing, waterfowl hunting, and boating was the proper course based on the low levels of algae in the testing. Signage has been posted regarding the notification of the potential presence of the algae for users. The city will continue to monitor the lake and testing will occur if algae blooms or mats become present. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to reach out to City Hall (816.540.3135) or Nici Wilson, Assistant City Administrator (Interim Parks + Facilities Director) at [email protected].
Additional resources regarding blue green algae are below:
https://dnr.mo.gov/water/hows-water/pollutants-sources/cyanobacteria-harmful-algal-blooms-blue-green-algae/information-resources
https://www.cdc.gov/habs/pdf/algal_bloom_tall_card.pdf
https://dnr.mo.gov/document-search/look-out-harmful-algal-blooms-pub2889