{"id":57900,"date":"2025-08-21T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=57900"},"modified":"2025-08-21T17:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T20:30:00","slug":"oakfield-beach-closed-for-swimming-due-to-possible-blue-green-algae-bloom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=57900","title":{"rendered":"Oakfield beach closed for swimming due to possible blue-green algae bloom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"alignnormal\">[metaslider id=&#8221;56501&#8243;]<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>OAKFIELD:<\/strong> HRM has advised residents that Oakfield Beach is closed for recreational use such as swimming due to the possible presence of a toxin-producing blue-green algae bloom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) are naturally occurring in freshwater environments and may grow when weather conditions are calm and warm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some types of blue-green algae produce toxins which can pose a risk to people and pets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Water users are encouraged to take the following precautions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Avoid water contact. If contact occurs, towel off vigorously and wash with tap water as soon as possible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not swim or wade\u00a0(or allow your children or pets to swim or wade) in any areas where blue-green algae is visible or in areas that have been closed to swimming due to possible blue-green algae.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep pets on-leash and do not allow them to consume blue-green algae material.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid consuming water from this lake.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid consuming fish that has come from this lake.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"alignnormal\">[metaslider id=&#8221;56179&#8243;]<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>People who come in contact with blue-green algae blooms or ingest water containing blue-green algae blooms may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea, vomiting and\/or diarrhea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Children and immune-compromised individuals are at a higher risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have these symptoms, please seek medical assistance. Images of blue-green algae are available <a href=\"https:\/\/www.halifax.ca\/about-halifax\/energy-environment\/lakes-rivers\/harmful-algae-blooms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a blue-green algae bloom or matis observed, a beach closure is issued and initial testing is done to determine whether it is a toxin-producing algae bloom is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it is <strong>not<\/strong> a toxin-producing algae bloom, no further testing is required, and the beach will be reopened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"alignnormal\">[metaslider id=&#8221;56530&#8243;]<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A public service announcement will be issued once the beach has reopened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it is a toxin-producing blue-green algae bloom, further testing will be carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The beach will remain closed until blooms have disappeared and post-bloom test results indicate the toxin concentration is within Health Canada guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more about blue-green algae blooms, visit:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.halifax.ca\/about-halifax\/energy-environment\/lakes-rivers\/harmful-algae-blooms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">halifax.ca\/cyano.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"alignnormal\">[metaslider id=&#8221;56526&#8243;]<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OAKFIELD: HRM has advised residents that Oakfield Beach is closed for recreational use such as swimming due to the possible presence of a toxin-producing blue-green algae bloom. Blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) are naturally occurring in freshwater environments and may grow when weather conditions are calm and warm. Some types of blue-green algae produce toxins which can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,957],"tags":[9041,50,33,4051,731,2087],"class_list":["post-57900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-blue-green-algae-bloom","tag-halifax","tag-oakfield","tag-oakfield-beach","tag-swimming","tag-testing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}