Community Corner
Lake Cochituate Cyanobacteria Advisory Ends: State DPH
Recent water tests have deemed Lake Cochituate safe after a visual sighting of blue-green algae, which can sometimes be toxic.
WAYLAND, MA — It's safe to use Lake Cochituate again.
State health officials on Wednesday determined that a cyanobacteria bloom in the lake — first confirmed with a visual sighting on Oct. 10 — was below acceptable levels, which means it poses no threat to human or pet contact. Notable, the state found that this recent bloom never developed any harmful toxins.
Cyanobacteria blooms, also called blue-green algae, often develop toxins that can be harmful to people and pets, causing skin irritation, sickness and death in rare cases. Natick issued an advisory on Oct. 13 to stay away from the water in southern portions of the lake.
According to the Wayland Recreation Department, cyanobacteria were detected at 3,900 cells per milliliter (cells/ml) of water at the town beach on Tuesday against the state threshold of 17,000 cells/ml. At Pegan Cove in Natick, the level was at exactly 17,000 cells/ml.
One week ago, cyanobacteria at the Wayland Town Beach were 12,000 cells/ml and 20,000 cells/ml at Pegan Cove.
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