An outbreak of toxic blue green algae along 200 kilometres of the Murray River risks frightening grey nomads and other tourists away.
The algae – which is potentially toxic to humans and animals – has bloomed in many Victorian creeks and reservoirs.
According to the Weekly Times, the public has been warned to avoid contact with the water in sections of the river from Yarrawonga to Torrumbarry Weir. Goulburn-Murray Water has included Echuca, Cobram and Barmah in the warning, and alerts are already in place for Cairn Curran and Laanecoorie reservoirs, Lake Boga and the Edward River, including Deniliquin and Mathoura.
While people are advised not to swim in the water, boating and other activities that do not involve direct contact with the water can continue.
It’s still a major worry for the waterside communities which rely so heavily on the money brought in by grey nomads and other travellers.
“All our promotions centre around the river, it is the big attraction,” Echuca-Moama Tourism chief executive Tom Smith told the Weekly Times. “We really don’t need potential visitors from the city reading about toxic algae and deciding not to come.”
A series of favourable environmental factors need to develop before blue-green algae will bloom. Larger blooms tend to occur where there is an excess of nutrients, often the result of fertiliser runoff from intensive agriculture or other degradation of the catchment system.
The Murray-Darling Basin Water Authority says it can produce toxins that cause liver damage, stomach upsets and disorders of the nervous system in humans, as well as skin and eye irritations.
“Although no human deaths have been attributed to blue-green algal toxins, stock deaths have been documented,” the Authority says. “And there is evidence of poisoning of wildlife and domestic pets.”
* Will the algae outbreak make you change your travel plans? Comment below.
Was going for the longweek end.3,vans not now.