Cyanos Activity July 5

Reconsider activities and limit exposure to the water.

Disclaimer: The information presented below reflects conditions throughout the lake and may differ from conditions on specific shorelines. For information regarding beach closings please contact the Torrington Area Health District or local town officials.

Water clarity continued to decline showing another drop of about 0.5 meter.  Cyanobacteria numbers in creased to almost 40,000 cells/mL marking an increase of about 30,000 cell/mL over last week.  Principal cyanobacteria taxa was Anabaena although several others were present including Microcystis, Oscillatoria, Aphanizomenon, and Woronichinia.  Water column still had significant “snow” or large clumped cyanobacteria that are buoyant and near the surface.  There is still a significant potential for these clumped algae to form surface scums on hot-sunny-calm days.  Water temperatures show continued warming of upper waters with surface now at 27^oC or 80^oF.  With warmer days yet ahead, surface water temperatures should continue to increase, further fueling more cyanobacteria growth.  Dissolved oxygen is now steadily declining in bottom most waters throughout the lake.  Extent of anoxic water has not yet reached zenith but is expected to by the end of the month.

Bantam Lake, CT 2017 Cyanobacteria Cell Count and CT DPH 2017 Recreational Waters Category Guidelines (Green = Safe, Yellow = Caution, Red = Posted Advisory)

Bantam Lake, CT 2017 Secchi Depth