AMESBURY — For the second straight year, swimmers will be advised against swimming in Lake Attitash in the final weeks of summer due to high bacteria levels of toxic algae cyanobacteria.
Board of Health Chairwoman Amy Courtney said yesterday that two samples were collected on Aug. 16, one at the Merrimac boat ramp and the other at Camp Bauercrest on the south side of the lake. The boat ramp tests are showing normal levels, but the sample collected at Camp Bauercrest is higher than the Department of Public Health guidelines, she said. Camp Bauercrest's beach is located just 1,000 feet east of the Lake Attitash Association beach, another popular swimming spot.
According to the tests, the level at the camp was 85,000 cells/ml and the DPH guideline is 70,000 cells/ml.
With the elevated sample level, the Board of Health will keep the advisories up that warn swimmers away.
The samples are taken weekly. In order for the advisory to be lifted, the samples have to test within the DPH guidelines for two consecutive weeks, meaning the lake would not be recommended for swimmers until Sept. 1 at the earliest.
After a six-week closure last summer, the Lake Attitash Association filed suit in Superior Court asking the court to limit composting at Sargent Farm, located on the Merrimac side of the lake. For many years, people living on the lake have believed that runoff from the farm, which composts gelatinous animal waste, has resulted in high nutrient levels that have fueled the toxic algae blooms.
The suit asks that the Beneficial Use Determination permit issued to the farm by the DEP in 2005, which allows for the composting, be nullified or struck down. The plaintiffs claim the 8,700 tons of waste material being added to the farm's compost and spread across the 450-acre farm is not approved material per the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
Courtney said the Board of Health is working with the DPH and the University of New Hampshire, which is assisting in the testing, to determine the cause of the high levels.
According to the state Health Department, exposure to cyanobacteria can cause respiratory problems in humans and animals, and irritation of the skin, eyes and ears, among other symptoms. Health effects can be more severe when visible slicks of the bacteria are on the water surface.
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