SLIDELL, La. — The St. Tammany Parish Fishing Pier and Northshore Beach in Slidell have been closed as an algae bloom in Lake Pontchartrain worsens.
St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister announced the closings Tuesday, saying that the pier and beach will be closed until further notice. Crews plan on putting up signs at both locations by the end of the day.
"The [Louisiana Department of Health] is urging people to avoid contact with the water and the algae itself, but also advising against harvesting or eating fish from the lake during the bloom," Brister said.
The announcement comes just one day after the City of Mandeville announced that the city's lakefront was closed because of the algae bloom.
"I've been living in the area for about 25 years and I've never seen it this bad," Mandeville resident Donnie Messenger told Eyewitness News.
The health department says the algae can be blue, bright green, brown or red and can smell like rotting plants.
While fish meat won't include the algae, it can show up in other organs. The health department advises that fish from the lake should not be harvested or eaten.
Exposure to certain types of algae can cause headaches, rashes and stomach aches. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has taken samples to determine if the algae blooming in the lake is toxic. Those results will take about two to three weeks to return.
Anyone exposed to the bloom should wash with soap and water and see a doctor if they feel sick.
“It may be toxic it, it may be something that is going to get some people sick and so we want to send a clear message: Don’t play in the water,” Mandeville Mayor Donald J. Villere said.
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