Don't Drink the Pond Scum
Most sources of drinking water in the U.S. are vulnerable to contamination from toxic forms of algae, and climate change might be increasing the risk.
The swimmers and kayakers of Oregon are no strangers to algae. In recent years, warnings of infestations in ponds and lakes have become routine. When an early-summer algal bloom developed on Detroit Lake near Salem this May, state and city officials knew exactly what tests to run and advisories to issue.
But city leaders hadn’t anticipated a threat to drinking water. Detroit Lake drains into the North Santiam River, and from there, water runs into the municipal system. On May 31, a few days after the algae was first detected in the system, Salem toxicologists found potentially deadly toxins in the water supply. That same day, the city warned its
