Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Part 2

Last week I blogged about the partial lake shutdown at Texoma. Well, late Tuesday afternoon the Army Corps announced that the ban on water contact is now lake wide due to the blue green algae bloom. Unlike the Grand Lake situation over the 4th of July, the Army Corps did not drop the ball and wait until the last minute to make the announcement. Knowing that the biggest weekend of the year for lake traffic is upcoming they made sure to get the work out well in advance so that people could weigh the options and make other plans. In addition, they provided more information about the bloom, the fact that just because you cannot see it does not mean it is not there and all of the health risks. The media has also been diligent about spreading the information not only on the local news but also through radio. It will be interesting to see how many people heed the warning and how many go ahead and make a weekend of it regardless of the risks. We know a LOT of those who have weekend houses and boats on the lake and so far we are hearing a pretty even mix of those still coming and those making other plans. Regardless of the decision, at least they have the information they need and the effort has been made to keep them safe. I am very impressed by the improvement in the Corps handling of the situation this time around and hopefully this will set a precedent to only be improved upon in the future.