Chasewater: Staffordshire County Council say the lake is now clear of blue-green algae.

Following several enquiries from readers who were concerned about the situation with blue-green algae bloom at Chasewater, today (15th August 2016) I’ve sought a statement from Staffordshire County Council who operate the park – and they say the problem is now passed and the water is safe for dogs.

It should be noted that Chasewater is never considered safe for swimming, and that when such events have been operated there in the past, they have had a great deal of additional safety provision.

On trying to ascertain the current situation, the first response I had was from one of the two official twitter accounts for Chasewater, which issued this abrupt tweet:

Ooh. Curt, much?

I expressed surprise that there had been no announcement of this on social media, and received this subsequent press statement from the council:

Hi Bob, please see the response below. Thanks, Niall

Gill Heath, Cabinet Member for Communities and the Environment at Staffordshire County Council said that the test results had come back confirming that it was blue and green algae in the water as suspected. Thankfully it has now all disappeared and is back to normal, and we have taken the signs down.

I thank Staffordshire County Council for making this clear, and would ask that they ensure important park news is actually broadcast via social media, where many folk look for it. The original issue was never mentioned on the park Facebook page and it seems strange that publicising such a hazard was left to rank amateurs like me.