Lake users avoiding Ohio's troubled waters

CELINA - Since signs went up at Grand Lake St. Marys in western Ohio warning people to keep clear of the water choked with toxic algae, boaters, campers and fishermen have found new places to visit, including Lake Loramie in nearby Shelby County.

Now, similar signs are going up at Lake Loramie.

Yesterday, state officials added Loramie and Deer Creek Reservoir in Pickaway County to the growing list of sites that might contain blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria.

There are now warning signs at nine public lakes and one pond across the state, from Lake Erie to Shawnee State Park, telling visitors to minimize contact with water.

The Loramie warning signs went up after park employees sent photos of what they thought might be an algae bloom to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Heidi Hetzel-Evans, a Natural Resources spokeswoman, said workers at Deer Creek found a bloom near a boat ramp at the 1,227-acre Deer Creek Reservoir.

At both parks, the state is warning people to avoid contact with the water, steer clear of any algae surface scum and not swallow any lake water.

The signs work. The park at Grand Lake St. Marys, usually filled with campers, is nearly empty. Likewise the lake, which traditionally attracts boaters from across the state.

Blue-green alga is a natural inhabitant of most Ohio streams and lakes. It grows thick feeding on phosphorus in waters polluted with manure, fertilizers and untreated sewage.

Ohio's frequently wet and hot summer has helped blue-green algae grow this year. Blooms become most evident on clear, sunny, windless days. That helps the cyanobacteria rise to the surface, where they rapidly spread across the water.

The threat to people and pets comes from as many as four liver and nerve toxins that cyanobacteria can produce.

The Ohio Department of Health is examining 13 cases of reported illnesses that might be linked to contaminated Grand Lake water and seven cases that might be linked to Burr Oak Lake.

Most boaters tend to stay within a 50-mile radius of where they live, said Ken Alvey, director of the Boating Associations of Ohio.

''A majority of (Grand Lake St. Marys) boaters went to Indian Lake," said Tim Lovett, president of Grand Lake's Improvement Association.

He said he's heard boaters also are venturing to the nearby Defiance River and Lake Loramie.

Indian Lake is in Logan County, where tourism numbers are up overall, said Fred Burkhardt, president of the county's chamber of commerce.

He estimates that Indian Lake State Park visitor numbers will be up as much as 14 percent, but he won't have final counts until the end of next month.

Jim Reed, owner of Spend-A-Day Marina in Russells Point along Indian Lake, said he's seen a 20 percent increase this summer.

''Certainly, the combination of (good) weather and unfortunate circumstances at Grand Lake helped boost" boat sales and rentals, he said.

Alum Creek is seeing more boaters this year as well, said state park marina manager Gary Hastler.

Yesterday, Mansfield resident John Lehner took his family out on water scooters at Alum Creek. He said he usually takes his family to Lake Erie, where they went last weekend. However, he said the new warning at East Harbor State Park will keep him from heading to Erie anytime soon.

Buckeye Lake Marina also has seen an increase of about 20 percent, said owner Dave Levacy.

As for Grand Lake, overall tourism in the area is down about 25 percent, said Donna Grube, executive director of the Auglaize & Mercer Counties Convention & Visitors Bureau based in St. Marys.

Grand Lake campground numbers are down 30 percent from two years ago.

Marina sales at one Grand Lake business are down 70 percent over a three-year period.

Bayview Sun & Snow Marina in Celina has lost $2.3 million in three years, said owner Buzz Goodwin.He said he will be forced to close if the lake isn't cleaned up by spring.

''I can't sell my business because who would buy my business on a toxic lake?" Goodwin said. Boaters have "gone to other lakes. They're not coming back. Our whole community is facing this."

Dispatch reporter Spencer Hunt contributed to this story.