State issues first algae advisory of 2024 at Maumee Bay State Park

Maumee Bay State Park’s Lake Erie Beach got its first state health advisory for algae a little after 4 p.m. on Friday.

The warning was issued by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The toxin concentration was not disclosed, but swimmers are advised to stay out of the lake and be careful around the shoreline because of a new recreational public health advisory.

It is especially important to keep dogs and young children out of the water.

A scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told The Blade on Thursday that Lake Erie’s Summer 2024 algal bloom began south of Monroe and in north Maumee Bay during the first of July, earlier than normal. It is expanding, last known to cover 180 square miles of the lake, and is becoming stronger along familiar territory in the warm, shallow water along the Toledo-to-Monroe shoreline.

That and a separate bloom have been spotted via satellite in Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay.