The Capital Regional District (CRD) has issued an advisory warning about a toxic blue-green algae bloom at Beaver Lake.
The advisory does not currently include Elk Lake, but the CRD says that blooms are unpredictable and may occur at any time.
Blue-green algae can produce cyanotoxins which can cause illness in people and can be fatal for household pets that ingest water with algae.
Visitors to Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park are advised to avoid swimming in the lake and to keep animals leashed to prevent them from drinking or swimming, until the advisory has been lifted.
Algae blooms usually produce a surface scum with a blue-green sheen on the water, however not all blooms are easy to see and toxins may still be present even without a visible bloom.
Ingesting water with algae-produced cyanotoxins can lead to headaches and abdominal pain in humans and lethal liver damage in dogs.
Beaver Lake has seen multiple toxic algae blooms over the past year, including incidents in August and December of 2019.
For the latest updates on the status of the algae bloom visit www.crd.bc.ca/alerts or follow the CRD on Twitter @crd_bc.
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