In fact, the danger officials wanted to warn them about wasn’t coming from the sky.
For the first time in Oregon’s history, toxins from a nearby algae bloom had made their way into a city’s tap water.
Today, Oregon for the first time has rules largely unheard of in the United States.
Wilhelm is interested in the circumstances that lead harmful blooms to overtake a body of water—and why that seems to be happening more and more.
"It’s a concern in many states—especially states that pull water from surface waters that are contaminated with these," says Dr. Tim Davis, who studies harmful algae blooms at Bolwing Green State University in Ohio.
Today, Rhode Island is considering new drinking water regulations for algae.
Wilhelm hopes the attention will lead to more awareness about the dangers of algae.
The lake feeds the Santiam River, from which the city pulls its drinking water.
"We noticed algae back in 2010 and said, ‘Hey we better start testing for it," says Peter Fernandez, Salem’s public works director.
Algae has persisted around Detroit Lake, but since the new system went live on July 4, Salem’s water has been free of algae toxins.

Long-term Colorado River forecasts highlight need for action From the Bureau of Reclamation: The Bureau of Reclamation has released updated 5-year probability-based planning model projections for future Colorado River system conditions, which underscore the ongoing impact of record dry conditions across the basin.
Furthermore, recently published results from the August 2018 24-Month Study operational model showed that another dry year like 2018 could drop the elevation of Lake Mead by 20 feet or more by mid-2020.
“These model projections further illustrate the continuing trend of drought and increasing dry conditions in the Colorado River Basin,” said Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman.
Conversely, the 24-Month Study operational model—which was most recently released on August 15—produces a single projection of reservoir conditions based on current inflow forecasts and reservoir conditions.
Projections from the August 24-Month Study were used to determine annual operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead for 2019.
While Lake Mead is near the level that would—for the first time—trigger mandatory cuts to Lower Basin water deliveries, it will continue to operate in normal conditions through calendar year 2019.
CRS Report: ‘Freshwater ‘Harmful Algal Blooms: Causes, Challenges, and Policy Considerations’ From the Water Wired blog: “Scientific research indicates that in recent years, the frequency and geographic distribution of harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been increasing nationally and globally.
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——————— About News Worth Noting: News Worth Noting is a collection of press releases, media statements, and other materials produced by federal, state, and local government agencies, water agencies, and academic institutions, as well as non-profit and advocacy organizations.
If your agency or organization has an item you would like included here, please email it to Maven.

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – On Friday, Governor Jeff Colyer declared a state of disaster emergency for the City of Norton due to harmful algae blooms in Sebelius Lake.
According to the press release, the algae blooms are affecting the surface water intakes for the public water supply.
The Kansas Division of Emergency Management has requested Kansas National Guard resources transport 26 pallets of bottled water to Norton.
The bottled water was donated by Harvesters in Kansas City, Missouri, and Topeka.
Earlier in the week on June 19th, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a boil water advisory for the Norton public water supply.
“The cause of this response is due to the harmful algae bloom in Lake Sebelius, which is where the city gets most of its drinking water,” said Leo Henning, Kansas Department of Health and Environment Director of Environment.
“We are working closely with federal, State and local leaders on monitoring and testing water supplies.
Our goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of those in the community.
We are working quickly with others to resolve the water quality concerns.” The 169th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, based out of Olathe, will transported the pallets to the Manhattan National Guard Armory on Saturday morning, June 23.
The 997th Brigade Support Battalion, based out of Hays, will transport the water Saturday afternoon from Manhattan to Norton.

Salem, Oregon – A health alert for young children or anyone with a vulnerable immune system: do not drink the tap water in Salem.
The city of Salem says boiling the water will not work, it could even make these toxins worse, and to use bottled water for drinking.
Read more from the City of Salem about the not drinking the tap water: City of Salem: CYANOTOXINS PRESENT IN DRINKING WATER DO NOT DRINK THE TAP WATER — MAY 29, 2018 INFANTS, YOUNG CHILDREN AND OTHER VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS Applies to City of Salem, City of Turner, Suburban East Salem Water District, and Orchard Heights Water Association WHY IS THERE AN ADVISORY?
To ensure the greatest quality of drinking water, City of Salem voluntarily samples for such toxins during algal events.
Levels of toxins have been detected in the City of Salem water system that supplies water to City of Salem, City of Turner, Suburban East Salem Water District, and Orchard Heights Water Association.
Do Not Drink the tap water.
City of Salem will post an updated advisory when: the Cyanotoxin levels are less than or equal to the national drinking water Health Advisories, this Do Not Drink Advisory is lifted and/or if there are any changes to the conditions of this Do Not Drink Advisory.
Updates will be provided Thursday, May 31, 2018 via the City of Salem web page, CityofSalem.net; City of Salem Alert System; local media; City of Salem social media.
More on the alert sent out: Do Not Drink the Tap Water Applies to City of Salem, City of TurnerSuburban East Salem Water District and Orchard Heights Water Association The advisory: Low levels of cylindrospermopsin and microcystin (cyanotoxins) have been found in treated drining water.
Levels of toxins have been detected in the City of Salem water system that supplies water to City of Salem, City of Turner, Suburban East Salem Water District and Orchard Heights Water Association.

The city of Toledo and nearby communities have earned the dubious distinction of being the first to report outbreaks of human illness due to algae toxins in municipal drinking water, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Both areas take their drinking water from Lake Erie.
Not to mention they can cause dead zones in bodies of water, killing marine life.
In September 2013, microcystin toxin was detected in the water treatment facility for Carroll Township, Ohio, at 3.5 times the safety threshold for drinking water.
This time around, 110 people got sick, and almost half a million people had to quit drinking tap water until they got the all clear.
It’s too early to know whether drinking water problems due to algae are becoming more common, says Jonathan Yoder, a CDC epidemiologist and one of the report’s authors.
"The bottom line is that we can’t say whether they are increasing or not, we know that the conditions that lead to algal blooms — nutrient pollution and warm water — are present in these freshwater lakes," Yoder says.
"I think there’s a continual risk in some of these areas for algal blooms and for some of them to be the type that have toxins that cause human illness."
Kathy Benedict, lead author of the paper and an epidemiologist with the CDC’s Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, points out that the cases in Ohio in 2013 and 2014 were not necessarily the first — they were just the first to be reported.
The CDC report, which was published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found than in 2013-2014, 42 outbreaks were reported in 19 states, resulting in 1,006 illnesses and 13 deaths.

The greenness of the Maumee River may fade over the next few weeks, but the underlying problems will remain.
Over a week ago, an algal bloom crept into the Maumee River. The Maumee River flows into Lake Erie, running through downtown Toledo on its way, and right now it is slick with green slime. Officials have assured residents that their water is still safe to drink, but residents remain skeptical because they have experienced these blooms before.
Among many other benefits, this rule protects the streams and wetlands that are natural sinks for excess nutrients.
On a local level in Toledo, American Rivers has been promoting green stormwater infrastructure solutions that reduce the flow of pollution into local streams. Green stormwater infrastructure can take many forms and has many benefits, like flood mitigation and fewer combined sewer overflows, but for the Maumee River one benefit is particularly relevant: by creating more green spaces and natural structures that organically process harmful chemicals, we can minimize the number of pollutants that reach our water system in the first place.
However, this work is not just about infrastructure.

Nutrient pollution: Voluntary steps are failing to shrink algae blooms and dead zones.
States around Lake Erie and in the Mississippi River basin, which drains to the Gulf of Mexico, have been trying to reduce nutrient pollution for years.
The Gulf of Mexico forecast predicts an 8,185-square-mile dead zone — more than four times the goal set by an intergovernmental task force.
But harmful algae blooms and hypoxia resurfaced in the mid-1990s, probably because flows into the lake of a form of phosphorus that is readily used by algae tripled.
Now however, 71 percent of nutrients entering Lake Erie are from non-point sources — mainly from agriculture.
The task force leading this effort recently extended the deadline for its goal of a 1,930-square-mile dead zone from 2015 to 2035.
The Chesapeake Bay’s pollution diet States around the Chesapeake Bay also struggled for decades to make voluntary, incentive-based approaches work.
No diet for Lake Erie Environmental groups recently sued EPA to force stronger action on nutrient pollution in Lake Erie’s western basin, with support from several members of Congress and the International Joint Commission, which coordinates efforts by the United States and Canada.
Michigan recently declared its portion of Lake Erie “impaired,” which is required to trigger a total maximum daily load.
Donald Scavia, Professor of Environment and Sustainability; Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan This article was originally published on The Conversation.

NEWS WORTH NOTING: Secretary Laird Announces Establishment of Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group; DWR Applies Treatment to Silverwood Lake Algal Bloom.
Secretary Laird Announces Establishment of Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group From the California Natural Resources Agency: Furthering the State’s continued efforts to address the effects of climate change, California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird today announced the appointment of 14 leaders in state climate science and infrastructure design to the Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group.
“I am proud to announce the appointees of the Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group,” stated Secretary Laird.
Through its deliberations, the working group will investigate: Current informational and institutional barriers to integrating projected climate change impacts into state infrastructure design Critical information that engineers responsible for infrastructure design and construction need to address climate change impacts How to select an appropriate engineering design for a range of future climate scenarios as related to infrastructure planning and investment.
I am pleased to know that engineers and climate scientists will be working together to ensure our state infrastructures are resilient enough to withstand the impacts of climate change.
California Department of General Services Dr. Noah Diffenbaugh Stanford University: Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment More information on the appointees can be found at: http://resources.ca.gov/climate/climate-safe-infrastructure-working-group/ DWR Applies Treatment to Silverwood Lake Algal Bloom No Swimming Allowed Due To Ongoing ‘Warning’ Advisory From the Department of Water Resources: The Department of Water Resources (DWR) today applied an algaecide treatment to the algal bloom in Silverwood Lake that has prevented swimming there for the past week.
DWR said the copper sulfate treatment kills blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) instantly, but cells and toxins need one to three days to degrade and decompose.
Silverwood Lake’s bloom was first observed in early July.
DWR applies copper sulfate to algal blooms in the State Water Project one or two times a year.
——————— About News Worth Noting: News Worth Noting is a collection of press releases, media statements, and other materials produced by federal, state, and local government agencies, water agencies, and academic institutions, as well as non-profit and advocacy organizations.

WEEKLY DIGEST for July 9 through July 14.
A list of posts published on Maven’s Notebook this week … This week’s featured articles … METROPOLITAN SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON THE BAY-DELTA: California Water Fix, Workshop #1 – Infrastructure: On July 10, the Metropolitan Special Committee on the Delta and the Water Planning and Stewardship Committee held a joint meeting and workshop to discuss the California Water Fix project.
The focus of this workshop is the first white paper staff has produced for the directors on the infrastructure of the California Water Fix proposal.
Read it here: METROPOLITAN SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON THE BAY-DELTA: California Water Fix, Workshop #1 – Infrastructure CALIFORNIA WATER COMMISSION: A primer on State Water Project operations: At the June meeting of the California Water Commission, Tracy Petitt-Polhemus, Supervising Engineer with DWR’s SWP Operations Office, gave this presentation.
Read it here: CALIFORNIA WATER COMMISSION: A primer on State Water Project operations Coverage of HR 23 … THIS JUST IN … HR 23 passes House 230 – 190: Early reactions from Costa, Garamendi, McNerney, and Nunes REACTIONS: California Water Alliance, NRDC, and others weigh in on HR 23, the The Gaining Responsibility on Water (GROW) Act of 2017 MORE REACTIONS to the passage of HR 23, the Gaining Responsibility on Water Act: Congressmen and organizations issue statements THIS JUST IN … Governor Brown writes Speaker Ryan, opposing HR 23, Gaining Responsibility on Water (GROW) Act of 2017 THIS JUST IN … House expected this week to take up HR 23, the Gaining Responsibility on Water Act; Feinstein, Harris oppose bill In water news this week from around the web … WEEKEND DAILY DIGEST: DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Milestones and miscues at Oroville Dam; Floating solar farms crop up in California; The next crisis for California may be the affordability of water; and more … MONDAY: DAILY DIGEST: Here’s where construction efforts on Oroville Dam spillway lie in early July; Winnemem Wintu work to bring salmon home from New Zealand; Heat wave kills thousands of cattle, overwhelms dairy industry; and more … TUESDAY: DAILY DIGEST: Jerry Brown’s tunnels would cement his family legacy; From floods to fires; Trump’s environmental rollbacks are hitting major roadblocks; and more … WEDNESDAY: DAILY DIGEST: Fish or farms?
A new battle rages over California water; Big decisions loom on twin tunnels project; Groundwater planning moves into next phase; California moves to lock pre-Trump environmental standards; and more … THURSDAY: DAILY DIGEST: California water bill passes house, but Democrats vow to fight it in the Senate; LA took their water and land a century ago.
Now the Owens Valley is fighting back; DWR wants to construct more of damaged Oroville spillway this season; and more … FRIDAY: DAILY DIGEST: Opponents of California’s Delta tunnels project push alternative strategies; Board of Consultants tweaks former Oroville Dam design recommendation; San Diego County Water Authority discusses ruling; Friday flight over Oroville; and more … News worth noting this week … NEWS WORTH NOTING: Pyramid Lake algal bloom now at ‘warning’ level; Coastkeeper takes legal action to protect San Juan Creek and Doheny Beach from illegal pollution NEWS WORTH NOTING: La Malfa requests delay in Oroville Dam relicensing; New video explains carbon farming in the Delta; Feinstein to CA Senators: Protect the desert from Cadiz; San Diego County Water Authority wins ASCE award NEWS WORTH NOTING: Cadiz issues statement on AB 1000; DWR’s State Fair exhibits inspire water conservation, rain or shine; Metropolitan Board awards $13.9M contract to construct recycled water demonstration facility NEWS WORTH NOTING: Jeff Rieker selected as Operations Manager for Reclamation’s Central Valley Office; EPA requires SoCal plastic manufacturers to protect L.A. River from pollution; Weekly water and climate report Weekly features … RESERVOIR AND WATER CONDITIONS for July 10 BLOG ROUND-UP: Delta tunnels biological opinions, “Spec” groundwater markets, Drought funding and the budget, How difficult would it be for the Trump Administration to replace the Clean Water Rule?, and more … SCIENCE NEWS: California projected to get wetter through the end of the century; Study: Critical Sierra meadows being overtaken by forest; Fishing for pikeminnow: A native predator removal derby; Legal battle drives dam managers to extraordinary salmon research; and more … Announcements this week … ANNOUNCEMENT: Soliciting Comments for the Development of a South Fork Eel River Hydrologic Model ANNOUNCEMENT: Amended Staff Report for MUN Evaluation in Ag Dominated Surface Water Bodies (Central Valley) PUBLIC NOTICE: SPK-2012-00286 of Proposals for Funding from the Sacramento District California In-Lieu Fee Program NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY for Public Comment and Workshops on Cannabis Cultivation Policy and Cannabis General Order LOW INCOME RATE ASSISTANCE: New Dates for Fresno & San Diego Public Meetings, GlobalMeet/ Dial In Options and New ListServe – Low Income Rate Assistance (AB 401) Sign up for email service and you’ll never miss a post!
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Pyramid Lake Algal Bloom Now at ‘Warning’ Level From the Department of Water Resources: The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is urging boaters and recreational users to avoid direct contact with or use of waters containing blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in Pyramid Lake in Los Angeles County. Water from the swim beach at Pyramid Lake’s Vaquero Day Use Area was tested using a field test kit on July 6 and showed a reading of 10 micrograms of microcystins per liter, a level that prompts the issuance of a “Warning” health advisory and the closure of the swim area. The Vaquero Day Use Area remains open for picnicking and other shoreline activities, but the swim beach is closed. A “Caution” advisory issued last week remains in place for the remainder of the lake, including Emigrant Landing Swim Beach. The Emigrant Landing Swim Beach is open for swimming. Field test strips provide faster results than laboratory testing but do not yield definitive results. Samples have been sent to a laboratory for additional analysis. Bloom conditions can change rapidly, and wind and waves may move or concentrate the bloom into different regions of the lake. “Warning” signs have been posted at Vaquero Swim Beach, and “Caution” signs remain posted at other locations around the lake. The algal bloom can appear as blue-green, white or brown foam, scum or mats that can float on the water’s surface and accumulate along the shoreline and boat ramp area. Blue-green algae can pose health risks, particularly to children and pets. Visitors to Pyramid Lake are urged to choose safe…