Bacteria Bloom: Historic Fountain in Roxbury Off Again, State Park Closed to Swimming

ROXBURY, NJ – Less than a week after it was reactivated, ending three decades of dormancy, the historic fountain at Hopatcong State Park is off again, thanks to a harmful algal bloom (HAB) in Lake Hopatcong.

The restored fountain, activated during a ceremony on July 23 , was deactivated two days later after state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) scientists found unhealthy levels of cyanobacteria in the lake near the state park, from which the fountain draws water.

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The DEP feared that the mist from the fountain would contain the HAB bacteria and be risky to breathe.

The DEP also closed the park to swimming due to the HAB, which, it says, “can cause a range of mild to moderate health effects including rashes, allergy like reactions, flu-like symptoms, gastroenteritis, respiratory irritation and eye irritation.”

The state park water tests, conducted July 16, showed an “advisory level” of HAB bacteria, a level that triggers the closing of public beaches because it poses a “moderate risk of adverse health effects and increased potential for toxins above public health thresholds.”

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“We knew it was going to be very problematic this year,” said Lake Hopatcong Foundation Chairman Marty Kane. “There was no ice-over in the winter, nothing to really slough off any of the algae. We had a very, very lengthy warm period.”

In fact, he said Lake Hopatcong hit an all-time high temperature of about 87 degrees last week, prime conditions for HAB growth.

“You have all the bad conditions you don’t want,” Kane added. “We had a lot of rain in the spring, then intense heat now. The only rain we get are intense thunderstorms that wash off anything on the roads but don’t give a chance to turn over the lake water.”

That said, Kane remains hopeful.

We’re hanging on now,” he said. “We only see two areas of the lake with those kinds of high readings. There’s still a lot of summer left … Hopefully, we’ll get a little relief from the heat. A good all-day rain here or there would be a very good thing.”

Related TAPinto Roxbury coverage:

Less Dramatic Return for Lake Hopatcong Harmful Algal Blooms

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