KENT – The Kent Town Board has approved a $17,000 contract with the Pond and Lake Connection, a full-service aquatic management company, that will treat Lake Carmel this summer to prevent algae blooms from forcing the town to close beaches around the lake for swimming.
By authorizing the agreement, Pond and Lake Connection located in Brookfield, Connecticut, can now apply to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Division of Water for the necessary permits.
Algae blooms can cause health effects in people and animals when a person’s skin touches the algae bloom, or when water is swallowed or droplets are inhaled. These blooms can also be a major hazard to drinking water supplies.
Harmful algae blooms can be different colors, including blue-green, plain green, yellow, brown, or red. They may contain a scum on the water surface, or at the shoreline. Large blooms often look unnatural resembling paint spilled into the water.
Last summer daytime temperatures flirting with the century mark on a number of occasions, combined with levels of oppressive humidity, elevated bacteria levels and harmful algae blooms in a number of Putnam waterways, forcing the county health department to increase its closure of beaches in both eastern and western Putnam.
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