Toxic algae populations decreased markedly during last week’s stormy weather, but officials say residents should stay out of the water for a few more weeks, until further tests can confirm whether the coast is clear.
Ben Holcomb, a Utah Department of Environmental Quality algae specialist, said cell counts in samples collected from four locations on the lake Thursday topped out at about 5,000 cells per milliliter. Previous samples were as high as half a million cells per milliliter, he said.
However, Holcomb said three of the four sites tested positive for anatoxin, a deadly neurotoxin sometimes produced by cyanobacteria, the microorganism responsible for toxic blooms.