FRESNO (KMJ) — Dangerous toxins found inside California’s lakes and rivers, are prompting a warning from the state keep pets away from the water.
What’s called cyanobacteria is where the problem stems from. The organism has been been in lakes and rivers for years. But it’s when the temperatures start to rise that’s the point where they produce toxisn – and one of them is Anatoxin-a.
“A pretty potent neurotoxin”, says Greg Gearheart, Deputy Director of the Office of Information Management and Analysis with the CA Water Boards.
“It causes some dog health concerns and livestock deaths, including dog deaths too. Children can also be affected by it. It has to do with the behavior of not only ingesting some of the water with the toxins but potentially coming into contact with the cells themselves”.
He adds that it’s most dangerous when the algal itself is ingested, but he advises staying out of the waters where it’s most common.
The sites closest to the Central Valley are the Kern River and Diaz Lake to the south, and the San Luis Reservoir to the north.
