Health alert issued for Holmes Lake in Lincoln

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By the Lincoln Journal Star

Fishing is still OK at Holmes Lake in Lincoln, but people and pets should not drink the water, state officials cautioned Thursday.

A health alert was issued for toxic blue-green algae at Holmes Lake. An alert also was continued for Iron Horse Trail Lake near DuBois in Pawnee County, which was placed on alert last week.

Dave Tunink, assistant administrator of the fisheries division of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, said the current algae level at Holmes Lake is no cause for concern to people fishing at the lake. Anglers might want to avoid wading in the waters, as the algae could irritate the skin.

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Firshermen drop lines at Holmes Lake last August. The state has issued a health alert for toxic blue-green algae there. (LJS file)

Firshermen drop lines at Holmes Lake last August. The state has issued a health alert for toxic blue-green algae there. (LJS file)

Swimming has not been allowed in the lake, although canoes, rowboats and other motorless watercraft are permitted.

Officials said samples taken Monday at Holmes Lake were above the state’s health alert threshold of 20 parts per billion (ppb) of total microcystins, a toxin released by certain strains of blue-green algae.

At Iron Horse Trail Lake, toxin levels had fallen below the alert threshold this week, but lakes put on health alert must have two consecutive weeks of readings below 20 ppb before the caution is removed.

Signs are being posted at Holmes to advise the public to use caution, and the swimming beach at Iron Horse Trail Lake will remain closed during the health alert. The public was advised to avoid activities that could involve accidental ingestion of water and to make sure their pets don’t drink from the lakes. People can still use the public areas for picnics and other outdoor activities.

High phosphorus levels, stemming from fertilizer runoff coupled with high rain levels of late, are likely responsible for the buildup at Holmes, Tunink said. He recommended that people in the watershed above Holmes use low- or non-phosphorus fertilizer. 

That message also was sounded two weeks ago at the city’s second Waterfest at Holmes Lake Park. The first Waterfest was held in 2006 to celebrate completion of a major improvement project at the lake and park.

The city has been promoting the use of no- and low-phosphorus fertilizer in the Holmes Lake watershed and throughout the city. Phosphorus not absorbed by plants runs off lawns and accumulates in creeks and lakes. It can create blue-green algae blooms that can be toxic to humans and pets and cause fish kills.

Both Holmes and Iron Horse Trail lakes will be monitored weekly, state officials said. The state is also taking periodic samples at 45 other public recreational lakes through September. Sampling results for toxic algae and bacteria will be updated every Friday at www.deq.state.ne.us.

Thursday’s alerts were issued by the state Division of Public Health, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and the University of Nebraska Water Quality Extension Program.