Skip Matthews hopes that this year, one Willow Creek Reservoir visitor will be a no-show: toxic blue-green algae.
The president of the Willow Creek Park District, Matthews has seen the number of visitors at the reservoir drop dramatically since 2006, when the Oregon Department of Human Services and the Morrow County Health Department began issuing warnings about the algae.
"I ran some numbers on our RV park, and back in 2005, we had $11,000 in revenue," Matthews said. "Last year we had just under $6,000."
Prior to the algae scare, Matthews said, the reservoir was a very busy place. In the springtime, fisherman arrived to catch trout, bass and crappie. As the weather warmed, recreationists came with their boats, water skis and swimsuits.
"On the weekdays, especially, it's been a nice handy recreation area for folks to go up there, fish off the dock and spend an evening with their families," Matthews said. "It seems like that's just kind of gone away."
Matthews said prior to 2006 there were toxic algae blooms, but they tended to occur in late August, after the recreation season was over. Nowadays, he said, the blooms are showing up earlier and lasting longer.
In 2006, the health department issued a warning in September, then lifted it at the end of October. But the next year, they sent out the warning in June. The health department lifted the warning in August, then issued another warning two weeks later that ended in October.
Last year, the algae alarm began in July. The health department lifted the warning in August, but then issued another that lasted from September to December.
The health warnings instructed reservoir visitors to avoid contact with the water and to be careful with any fish from the pool - they must have all fat, skin and organs removed before eating. Even inhaling water droplets could be dangerous, the advisories stated.
In an effort to reduce the blooms, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Idaho, installed several solar-powered water circulators in the reservoir's Balm Fork arm last summer. Made by Solar Bee, Inc., the circulators are supposed to work by bringing cool water from the bottom of the reservoir to the top, thus disrupting the algae's environment.
Solar Bee is using the reservoir as a test bed for the technology, which has not been proven to prevent algae blooms.
Although none of the researchers could be reached for this story, Jennifer Sowell, a corps of engineers spokesperson, said she thought the water circulators may not have been as successful as they hoped. She said there was talk of installing more circulators.
There may not be enough data as of yet to accurately assess the machines' success, Sowell added.
Matthews said the park district will continue to work with the corps and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to keep the issue at the top of their list.
The president of the Willow Creek Park District, Matthews has seen the number of visitors at the reservoir drop dramatically since 2006, when the Oregon Department of Human Services and the Morrow County Health Department began issuing warnings about the algae.
"I ran some numbers on our RV park, and back in 2005, we had $11,000 in revenue," Matthews said. "Last year we had just under $6,000."
Prior to the algae scare, Matthews said, the reservoir was a very busy place. In the springtime, fisherman arrived to catch trout, bass and crappie. As the weather warmed, recreationists came with their boats, water skis and swimsuits.
"On the weekdays, especially, it's been a nice handy recreation area for folks to go up there, fish off the dock and spend an evening with their families," Matthews said. "It seems like that's just kind of gone away."
Matthews said prior to 2006 there were toxic algae blooms, but they tended to occur in late August, after the recreation season was over. Nowadays, he said, the blooms are showing up earlier and lasting longer.
In 2006, the health department issued a warning in September, then lifted it at the end of October. But the next year, they sent out the warning in June. The health department lifted the warning in August, then issued another warning two weeks later that ended in October.
Last year, the algae alarm began in July. The health department lifted the warning in August, but then issued another that lasted from September to December.
The health warnings instructed reservoir visitors to avoid contact with the water and to be careful with any fish from the pool - they must have all fat, skin and organs removed before eating. Even inhaling water droplets could be dangerous, the advisories stated.
In an effort to reduce the blooms, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Idaho, installed several solar-powered water circulators in the reservoir's Balm Fork arm last summer. Made by Solar Bee, Inc., the circulators are supposed to work by bringing cool water from the bottom of the reservoir to the top, thus disrupting the algae's environment.
Solar Bee is using the reservoir as a test bed for the technology, which has not been proven to prevent algae blooms.
Although none of the researchers could be reached for this story, Jennifer Sowell, a corps of engineers spokesperson, said she thought the water circulators may not have been as successful as they hoped. She said there was talk of installing more circulators.
There may not be enough data as of yet to accurately assess the machines' success, Sowell added.
Matthews said the park district will continue to work with the corps and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to keep the issue at the top of their list.