PORTLAND, Ore. — While it’s tempting to cool off in the Willamette River right now, some areas may not be safe. Toxic algae blooms has been reported in a couple locations prompting the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to issue a health advisory for a large section of the river near downtown Portland.
The advisory stretches from the Ross Island Lagoon to Cathedral Park in St. Johns. Excessive heat is to blame for the algae.
“If the water looks bright blue or green, if it’s foamy or looks like paint has spilled on it, if it smells bad — stay out,” said Curtis Cude with OHA.
He said they have monitoring systems along parts of the river to watch out for toxic algae blooms. On Tuesday, a Multnomah County bridge operator spotted the latest bloom underneath the Hawthorne Bridge.
“If it's not moving, nothing is going to move so it’s just become stagnant, and I could see the algae moving but very slowly," said Aysha Ghazoul who spotted the algae bloom.
People should avoid swimming and other recreational activities — including water skiing, and fishing — and keep pets away from areas where the cyanobacteria blooms and cyanotoxins are present.
“For pets, you would look at if they are acting lethargic if they are tired or if they are having trouble walking, then you would want to get them to the emergency vet right away,” said Beth Appert with the Multnomah County Health Department.
The health department says while it’s still okay to kayak and go boating in the river, everyone is urged to stay away from swimming in this section of the Willamette River. OHS officials said they don’t know when the advisories will be lifted, but there’s a chance the bloom could increase in other parts of the river because the current heat wave in Portland.