North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit has found toxins at a lake, but it hasn't been made public

A resident of Restoule, a township an hour south of North Bay, Ont., says the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit isn't sharing information about harmful toxins found at a local lake. 

Shirley Smith-Wilson has lived in the area for six years but has been camping there for 14. She says she often visits Commanda Lake to walk around the perimeter of the shorelines. On one of her walks earlier this month, she noticed what appeared to be blue-green algae or cyanobacteria. It is a bacteria that can be harmful to humans and animals.

So, she contacted the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks on June 4 who said the report will be done by the end of the week. But, she never heard back from them or the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit.

Smith-Wilson says it wasn't until after countless emails and calls that they finally sent their confirmation. She says they reported two toxins in the lake, one was a chemical substance that damages the liver, Microcystin-LR and another one that causes neurological symptoms, Anatoxin-a. 

But, Smith-Wilson says the city has told her that there will be no public announcement.

"Their answer was it was not their job and it was very time consuming," she said. "So, it was not their job to post or to report back on any blooms after there's already been one and that one could have been 20 years ago."

She's noticed an influx of new residents and campers as the lake is beside the Restoule Provincial Park. The public health response has left her wondering, "is this my responsibility now?"

Smith-Wilson explains she feels pressure to tell people visiting the lake.

"You say, oh, should I be going over and telling them? Because the health unit's not providing that information and their answer is, well, if it was a problem, the health unit would be letting us know," she said.

She says that has left many other residents with questions.

"They're not thinking it's something that could make them sick or toxic or somebody would have told them."

Nathan Wilson is Smith-Wilson's son. He is studying the impact of blue-green algae on lakes around northern Ontario. He says the toxins from the blue-green algae can be detrimental to people's health.

"That can cause anywhere from dermatological issues, so itchy skin and rashes, to gastrointestinal issues, and in some cases, it's been associated with fatalities in animals, pets and people," he said.

According to the Ontario government's website, blue-green algae can cause itchy, irritated eyes and skin from direct contact through activities like swimming or water skiing. It can also cause flu-like symptoms, such as headache, fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, if large quantities of toxins are swallowed.

Wilson says it's a bigger problem now due to the heat.

"People are going to want to go swimming in that," he said. "They haven't had a report on it and they haven't been notified about a bloom that has been producing toxins. [They're] increasing your risk of exposure to those potential toxins."

The government's website explains that non-municipal water systems are less likely to have the specialized equipment needed to effectively filter and treat water during harmful algal blooms.

"I haven't confirmed anybody who actually drinks the water, but for showering, washing their dishes, brushing their teeth," he said. 

That raises a lot of questions because it is stated on the district health unit's web page that no private water treatment systems are effective at removing and denaturing the toxin."

The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit's web page only provides information on the steps residents should take when there is blue-green algae. They say it's best to avoid the water and use an alternate source when there is a bloom.

Wilson said the health unit has told him "campers have been complaining that this is a problem for them financially because they don't want to see that the misunderstanding from the public is being converted into a depreciation of their property value." He thinks that is the reason why the public health unit is not making the report public.

The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit says there should be a sign at the lake since the location has had a bloom in the past. Spokesperson Alex McDermid says inspectors contact the municipality to replace the signs if they notice that they are missing.

As for a list of reported blooms, they say residents have to call the Ministry of Environment directly to get that information. However, the ministry wrote in an email that it's actually the health unit's role to provide notices to residents.

Public Health Sudbury and Districts follows the province's word. Burgess Hawkins, the manager of Environmental Health and says the city doesn't use signs to notify residents as blooms can occur for as little as weeks in some cases. Instead, they publish a press release for every bloom that is reported even if the same bloom was reported a month ago.