AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- City of Austin officials are joining the Lower Colorado River Authority in warning pet owners about harmful algae blooms that have been recently discovered across the Highland Lakes.
The city's Watershed Protection Department said Thursday it's increasing the risk level for Lady Bird Lake and Lake Austin to "increased risk," given LCRA's recent announcements.
According to a city news release, staff have observed accumulations of algae in areas of Lady Bird Lake. Samples will be sent to the University of Texas for testing later this week; a sample from Lake Austin was taken and sent last week.
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At least five dogs died after swimming in Lady Bird Lake during the summer of 2019.
Some of the symptoms that dogs exhibit after being exposed to cyanotoxins include excessive drooling, vomiting and diarrhea, foaming at the mouth, jaundice and hepatomegaly, blood in urine or dark urine, stumbling, loss of appetite, photosensitization in recovering animals, abdominal tenderness, progression of muscle twitches, and respiratory paralysis.
Dog owners should take their pets to a veterinarian immediately if their dogs become sick after swimming in the lakes, and the city asks that you also report any illness to 3-1-1.
At this time, the risk to people appears low, and people may continue to boat and fish. Swimming has been banned in Lady Bird Lake since 1964.