Wadsworth Park reopen, but visitors advised to avoid pond due to potential for blue-green algae

Wadsworth Park was temporarily closed Aug. 20-21 due to signs of algae in the pond.

The park reopened Aug. 22, but caution signs advised of the potential for blue-green algae, which can be toxic to pets and cause a variety of skin issues for humans, as well as other problems if swallowed.

Kevin Vining, park supervisor for Great Falls Park and Recreation, said the city is having the pond tested for blue-green algae through the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

Nothing was confirmed as of Aug. 21, but Vining said he reported it to DEQ, where officials looked at photos and moved the pond’s status to cautionary.

In the report, available on the DEQ’s website, Vining wrote that it’s a “fine green algae bloom, that has a look of an oil slick on top of the water. At water’s edge there is some brighter bluish green algae on the bank.”

A harmful algal bloom is a rapid overgrowth of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, which are native, tiny plant-like organisms that commonly occur in low densiƟes in Montana’s lakes,
streams, and reservoirs, according to DEQ and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Harmful algae blooms usually occur in summer and fall in Montana when temperature, sunlight and nutrient levels promote rapid growth and human influences like excess nutrients from land-based sources and higher water temperatures are contributing to increased frequency and duration of the blooms, according to DEQ and DPHHS.

Vining said the algae is pretty obvious this year at Wadsworth and he closed the park as a precaution until DEQ could send the caution sign and recommendations.

The signs advise park-goers to stay away from algae areas and the water and keep pets away.

The park reopened on Aug. 22 and other recreational activities, including walking, disc golf, picnicking and pavilion use remain available.

The city water lab tests drinking water, so a sample of Wadsworth algae was sent to the DEQ lab in Helena and will take at least a week to get results, Vining said.