Pigeon Lake’s algae levels are down this summer, but residents are hesitant to declare victory over the blooming bacteria. They want to keep fighting it — and they want the government to join in, too.



“The water is amazing,” said Ron LaJeunesse, secretary for the Pigeon Lake Renewal League, one of several citizen-led organizations that have been working to improve the lake’s health in the past years and rid it of cyanobacteria.



The naturally occurring bacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, appears on water surface as scum or fuzz and can cause symptoms of irritation to skin and eyes, sore throat, swollen lips, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It can be even more dangerous to children and pets.



“I’ve been out here a number of years and I don’t recall being able at this time of year to see to the bottom without even any algae floating,” said LaJeunesse.



The league began work almost a year ago to mitigate the yearly blooms of toxic algae that deter people from swimming and boating on the lake.



Along with a public education campaign to convince residents to decrease their fertilizer use and to reduce runoff using rain gardens and barrels, league members hauled more than 90 cubic metres of algae mats from the lake.



They were even able to sell the mats to local farmers to use in place of the phosphorous-rich fertilizers that are often blamed for algae proliferation.



The change this year has been significant.



“Everyone around this lake I think assumed that by the end of July, the boats would be coming out of this lake and people would be leaving,” said Ian Rawlinson, chair of the league.



Instead, despite consistent warm weather and rainfall, the blooms that have been a yearly unwelcome phenomenon have not returned this summer.



Rawlinson is hesitant to draw any scientific conclusions from less than a year of data — especially since the overcast skies may have helped keep algae from growing — but he said it’s hard to ignore the correlation between the work done and the positive results.



“As much as I’d like to say yes, it’s luck and there’s weather; I think there’s also an impact of people doing things,” he said.



The work done by the league hasn’t been particularly expensive, involving mostly volunteer efforts and public support. Overall, though, Rawlinson says the several pro-lake groups in the area have sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars, from private and public sources, into trying to fight the algae.



But between the economic payoff of summer vacationers and the wider potential for those benefits (Alberta has 21 lakes so far this summer with blue-green algae warnings), Rawlinson says it’s worth it and would like to see funding go to similar work in other areas.



He said local Wildrose MLA Mark Smith has been supportive of the league and has said he is willing to take their concerns to the Alberta legislature. But he also pointed out a request for funds to purchase a harvester — a $100,000 device used to skim algae off the water surface — was turned down.



“I think they can do more,” he said, adding, “I also recognize that the poor cottage owner on Pigeon Lake in Alberta’s economy right now is not really the priority, so we also have to accept that.”



dlazzarino@postmedia.com



Twitter.com/SUNDaveLazz



Blue-green algae warnings this summer:



• Alix Lake – June 30



• Baptiste Lake – July 6



• Bonnie Lake – June 21



• Clear Lake – June 28



• Eagle Lake – June 23



• Garner Lake – July 13



• Half Moon Lake – June 28



• Hastings Lake – June 28



• Jackfish Lake – June 30



• Lac La Biche – July 15



• Lac La Nonne – June 30



• Lac Ste. Anne – June 30



• Lake Isle – June 30



• Lessard Lake- June 30



• Long Lake – July 8



• Magee Lake – July 6



• Mons Lake – July 12



• Severn Creek Reservoir – June 28



• Stoney Lake – June 22



• Twin Valley Reservoir – July 6



• Wizard Lake – July 8