Is there Blue-Green Algae in the Commons Ponds?

Well, the simple answer to that is yes.  

The more detailed answer is that Blue-green algae naturally occurs in freshwater, estuaries and the sea so it is possible that all our ponds have the algae in them - and not just our ponds, any ponds in a green space will ikely have algae in it.

When conditions are suitable, such as abundant sunlight, warmer temperatures, still or slow-flowing water, sufficient levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), the algae can increase substantially and result in “blooms”.  It is these blooms which can produce harmful toxins, but without testing it is impossible to know for sure if any of the Commons ponds are toxic. We therefore take the precautionary approach of advising that all dogs be kept out of the water.

As a reminder, we do require all dogs to be kept out of the ponds during bird nesting season, which is 1st March to 31 August. We have signs up around our ponds and on noticeboards.  After the 1st September, when bird nesting season has finished, we still advise visitors to be aware of the potential problem with blue-green algae and to keep dogs out of ponds.