Last week, the university and union started their annual stay-out-of-the-water campaign, warning of the terrible dangers of... algae. Well, I've been swimming in L. Mendota many times over the past ten years, and so have my friends, never with any ill effects. You've got a better chance of being attacked by a large fish than of encountering toxic algae. Unless you dive straight into something that looks like the photo above (taken recently near the swimming pier), you've got nothing to worry about. If you do dive into something that looks like the photo, well, then you deserve what you get. Not even a dog would jump into that. However, the "pea soup" stuff that floats suspended throughout the water column out on the open lake is not dangerous except rarely to people who don't know how to swim. See www.news.wisc.edu/16894 for more "info". How do you know for sure that there's no danger..? Because Hoofers never cancels any classes—not even sailboarding or dinghy testouts (which require a dunking in the lake)!
What's your point, Fleet Commander? The University and the Union are engaged in an education campaign to tell people to stay away from toxic blue-green algae. Just as you say to do. They also point out that the blooms are more frequent and bigger than ever before, so your experience from 10 years ago isn't relevant.
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't know if theyare really getting bigger. Two or three years ago, the whole area between the concrete pier and the Red Gym (where the keelboats get lifted in) was completely covered in that shiny aqua scum. It looked like you could walk on it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the bigger issue is, why hasn't Hoofers cancelled lessons in which persons get wet near the shore in this toxic mess? Could it be the paid staff don't get paid otherwise? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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