BLUE-GREEN ALGAE INFORMATION
Blue-green algae look much like other, more common algae but they’re really a type of bacteria called Cyanobacteria. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) samples recreational bodies of water for blue-green algae when they are alerted to a potential algae bloom. Contact with high concentrations of the cyanobacteria can cause illness. KDHE issues a Public Health Advisory or Public Health Warning based on either the presence of a certain toxin or on the number of cyanobacteria cells in the water.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT); the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation cooperate with KDHE when an Advisory or Warning is issued to alert the public about potentially harmful algae blooms.