Our dedicated Spokane Riverkeeper Rick Eichstaedt recently visited Long Lake, also called Lake Spokane, the site that was recently issued a state advisory for its “extremely high” levels of toxins measured from algae blooms.  Rick was there to talk with Scott Chaney, the Suncrest-area resident who noticed the troubling algae blooms, reported them to Ecology, and then collected samples to be sent to a King County environmental laboratory for testing (on his own dime of course).

What came back was startling.  The sample collected was found to be extremely toxic at 18,700 micrograms per liter of mycrocystin (the threshold of concern is 6 micrograms per liter).  Upon informing the media, a duty Scott  gladfully accepted seeing as how "apparently the Health Department and Ecology were unaware of it and weren't telling anybody", authorities were prompted to, "warn residents to stay out of the water and keep their pets and livestock away, too."

Watch Scott's story below, and read about it HERE:

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