LCRA water quality tests in November did not detect toxicity from blue-green algae in lakes Buchanan, Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls or Travis. Samples taken offshore in Travis Landing also showed an improvement in overall water quality. Nevertheless, LCRA continues to urge people and pets to avoid contact with algae because there is always a chance that algae can start producing toxins without any visible signs.

 

Toxicity was last detected in the Highland Lakes back in June, when small amounts of cyanotoxins were determined to be present in the algae, but not at quantifiable levels. However, one Travis Landing resident had a scare just before Thanksgiving when her dog had to be rushed to an emergency clinic with severe vomiting after swimming in Lake Travis. The clinic was unable to detect any toxins and the pet has since recovered, yet the onset of the illness seems more than a coincidence. To keep pets safe, rinse their paws when they leave the park or arrive home.

 

As reported last month, the toxin testing closest to Travis Landing is now at Arkansas Bend Park. Our LCRA biologist called to say that nothing was detected there in November and that a new SPATT bag is in place to collect a sample during December so we should have those results in mid-January. The City of Austin is also conducting testing in Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake. The outbreak of cyanotoxins last February showed that cold weather does not prevent the problem so we have to watch out for blue-green algae on the shore. For more information visit lcra.org/algae.

 

The latest offshore water samples tested by John Anderson show a great improvement in the level of dissolved oxygen up to 7 milligrams per liter. This is most likely due to cooler water temperatures because LCRA has had similar readings in deeper water for a couple of months. John is a member of the Colorado River Watch Network and his full results are posted on the network’s website every month. If you click on the entry for Site 463, located in segment 1404, you can see monitoring data for Travis Landing going back to May of this year: https://crwn.lcra.org/sitelist.aspx

 

Here is a summary of the most recent Travis Landing results: