HEALTHCARE

Dog swimming banned at one Erie County location

David Bruce
Erie Times-News

It’s unsafe for dogs to swim at one waterfront location in Erie County.

Advisories are scheduled to be posted at Avonia Beach in Fairview Township warning people to keep their dogs out of the water because of harmful algal blooms. Water-sample testing results published Thursday showed toxin levels that exceeded what is considered safe for dogs.

The thresholds are lower than what is considered unsafe for humans because dogs tend to drink water when they swim. Ingesting water infected with these toxins can cause gastrointestinal illness in dogs that can be life-threatening in some cases.

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Signs like these are posted at waterfront locations in Erie County where test results have indicated high levels of harmful algal blooms.

The Regional Science Consortium at Presque Isle tests water samples taken from 20 Erie County locations for the blooms. These locations include sites throughout the county where public swimming is permitted.

Erie County Department of Health officials said toxin levels last week exceeded dog safety thresholds at South Pier, though that location is not listed on the RSC's map of testing sites.

"The sites on the map are accessible for swimming by people or pets, while the South Pier site is not," Breanna Adams, director of environmental health services for the county health department, said in an email. "It is tested as a research site to give a better picture as to what is going on with HABs in the whole of (Presque Isle) Bay." 

The advisory at Avonia Beach will remain in effect until subsequent tests show the toxins have declined to a safe level.

Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.