EPA Says Klamath Water Turning Toxic
By Tom Chandler on Jul 7, 2007 in Environment, News
The EPA issued an alert on Thursday, warning people to stay away from the water behind two of the lower four (disputed) dams on the Klamath River or they’ll grow a second head.
“Due to its potential health risks, federal, state, local, and tribal agencies are urging swimmers, boaters and recreational users to avoid contact with the blue-green algae now blooming in Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs,” said Lisa Fasano, spokesperson for the EPA’s San Francisco office.
My favorite part of the health warning? This stretch that sounds like one of those side-effects disclaimers from a drug company ad:
“Recreational exposure to toxic blue-green algae can cause eye irritation, allergic skin rash, mouth ulcers, vomiting, diarrhea, and cold and flu-like symptoms. Liver failure and death have occurred in rare situations where large amounts of contaminated water were directly ingested,” Strauss stated.
All in favor of making the next PacifiCorp company picnic a swim party in the middle of Iron Gate Reservoir, please raise your hands…
Technorati Tags: klamath, klamath river, iron gate, epa, copco, pacificorp
Dave Neal | Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
Yet another “straw on the camels back”…that back is now quite broken, in fact, the camel is dead and bloated and stinking up the place.
It’s way past due to tear those dams down and it is truly appalling that it has gone on this long.
What I find even more incredible is how any salmon and steelhead can even continue to migrate up and down the Klammath at all. They are a truly wonderous species that has shown phenominal persistence. Can’t we just do the right thing and reward them with a healthy rivershed in return?
Thanks Tom, for continuing to report on the ongoing struggles of this river.
Tom Chandler | Jul 9, 2007 | Reply
It’s not pretty right now.
The good news is the stakeholders are playing nicely togther (sans PacifiCorp), but irrigators, environmentalists, fishermen and native Americans are all hammering out what we hope will be a workable agreement.
Of course, even if the dams end up being breached, it’ll be several years before the process begins, and it will take upwards of a decade to pull it off.