Baylor Studying Toxic Lake Belton Algae Found Last Year

With the summer heat beginning to show up, many are looking to go out to water parks or visit lakes to cool off. However, after last year's sad story of pets passing away, some are worried about visiting lakes. The University of Baylor is working to help assuage fears by running experiments on the water.

According to KWTX, lake ecologists at the University are studying the algae discovered last year. The algae in question was obtained from the Brazos River. Testing earlier in the year revealed no toxicity, but there still is the possibility for our furry friends to be affected by nature.

KWTX talked to a PhD professor of Biology at Baylor, Thad Scott, on the testing: “We culture these microorganisms in the lab we grow them up across conditions we think are environmentally relevant,” Scott continued on to say “We’re able to quantify how much toxin is in the water from a water sample.”

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While currently there is no threat to humans with the algae described, Scott encouraged everyone to avoid certain areas that look not safe to swim in: “Be wary of stagnant pools of water if they are brown or really green in color stay out of those and keep your pet out of those, keep your pet especially from consuming that water.”

Thad also stated: “We want to develop forecasting tools to give early warning signs to the public or some kind of indication of when to avoid water or what bodies of water to avoid.”

So have fun this summer, but be wary if that the water looks unsafe, you probably shouldn't go swimming in it.

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