Good news about Sebbins Pond algae

Friday, September 23, 2011

So Sebbins Pond is no longer a public health concern, according to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

About a month after the DES issued a cyanobacteria warning for the pond, the blue-green algae was said to be down to a level that was no longer a public health concern.

That’s good, of course.

The warning had affected local swimmers, including the Girl Scouts and Camp Kettleford, we reported last week, but things are OK now. Of course, it’s unlikely that Girl Scouts still are looking to swim in the pond, September being a tad chilly, but one can anticipate that Sebbins will be OK when the Scouts return next year.

At least we hope so.

As a nation, we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about things like cyanobacteria, although for all we know we see it on a lot of ponds. We just don’t know what it is.

Fortunately for us, the DES does think about it and, even more fortunately for us, takes action, or at least keeps watch. That’s what the DES did in the case of Sebbins Pond: It kept its departmental eye upon the pond and, on Sept. 9, determined that the levels of cyanobacteria had dropped to the point where it was no longer a health concern.

And what were those concerns? As we reported, the risks of coming into contact with the water could have included irritation of the skin and mucous membranes, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Chronic risks could have included liver and central nervous system damage.

That’s no laughing matter.

So we are lucky that our governmental departments, such as the Department of Environmental Services, are on the job. You see, there are some things that we can’t do for ourselves, like monitor the algae in Sebbins Pond.

Government isn’t always the evil entity that some politicians would have you believe it is.