Quebec's famous lakes teeming with blue-green algae

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2007

MONTREAL (AFP) — Unsightly and potentially toxic, blue-green algae has infested Quebec's prized lakes, fed by fertilizers that keep summer home lawns plush and green and local residents and authorities fretting.

With its half-a-million lakes, Quebec is nirvana to fishermen and boaters fleeing inner city stress for the peace and calm of summer cabins and mansions on the shores of cool lakes.

But this summmer, a pall has fallen over this idyllic paradise and over the surface of many lakes in the form of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria.

Besides turning the lake surface a putrid shade of green, the pond scum or bloom, as cyanobacteria is also called, can be toxic, causing skin irritation on contact and liver or nervous system problems when swallowed.

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