The authorities of El Salvador declared an emergency in the area of Lake Coatepeque, in the northwest of the country due to an algae bloom that has changed the color of its waters.

The decision was adopted by the National Red Tide Commission, made of the Ministries of Environment, Health and Agriculture, because of the unusual phenomenon, which gives the water an intense turquoise color.

As a preventive measure, the committee issued a ban on the extraction and consumption of fishery products from the lake, in Santa Ana department.

According to preliminary investigations, the change is the result of the proliferation of micro algae species Microcystis aeruginosa, Oscillatoria limosa and Ceratium furca.

The degree of their toxicity is not yet determined, so the government has declared an emergency as a precautionary measure, officials from the ministries explained in a press conference.

So far, there are no records of people affected, but similar cases are known for this type of algae blooms in other countries that have killed livestock for water intake with these characteristics, they added.

Authorities decided to send drinking water pipes to the area and provide contingency support to the families of 12 fishing cooperatives working in the lake, and to establish preventive health measures.

Lake Coatepeque is of volcanic origin and is on the south of the western city of Santa Ana, at an altitude of 745 meters above sea level and covers an area of 25.3 square kilometers.

The Coatepeque, which in Nahuatl dialect means “Hill of Snakes’, has a maximum depth of 115 meters, according to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

Source: Prensa Latina