Algae

For the fourth year in a row, city contractors will apply a treatment to Lady Bird Lake to try to fight the growth of toxic cyanobacteria. The modified clay targets the phosphorus that the algae feed on.

Lab test results of blue-green algae discovered in Lady Bird Lake and Lake Austin are pending. In the meantime, assume the worst.

Keep an eye on pets at Red Bud Isle and Jessica Hollis Park on Lake Austin.

The city says next week it's expanding a water-treatment program in the hopes of tamping it down.

The level of bacteria is below EPA minimums, the city reported Friday. But it's still urging pet-owners to keep dogs away.

Toxic algae has sickened at least one swimmer. Cylindrospermopsin can cause kidney and liver damage. Symptoms of exposure can include fever, headache, vomiting and bloody diarrhea.

Officials with the city's Watershed Protection Department say the system will be up and running again by the end of the month. The department will operate two separate dashboards for Lady Bird Lake and Lake Austin.

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, is a potent neurotoxin. In 2019 it killed several dogs in Lady Bird Lake. It has since been detected in other lakes and, most recently, killed two dogs in Lake Travis last winter.

Toxins from blue-green algae that led to the death of several dogs last year have been detected in two spots on Lady Bird Lake — Red Bud Isle and Festival…

Remember last year, when we only had to worry about dog-killing algae?Well, on top of the pandemic, Austinites also still have to worry about dangerous…