Payson Lakes Recreational Monitoring 2022

Report a Bloom

24-Hour DEQ Environment Incidents Line: (801) 536-4123

Call Utah Poison Control Center

Call the Poison Control Center

If you believe you or your pet have been exposed to a harmful algal bloom, call (800) 222-1222.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on November 22, 2022

Recreational water quality monitoring has ended for the season. Utah County Health Department has removed the Danger Advisory at Big East Lake.

Know how to recognize the signs of a harmful algal bloom and recreate safely.

Monitoring will resume in summer 2023.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on November 9, 2022

Big East Lake

DANGER ADVISORY

Utah County Health Department has issued a Danger Advisory for Big East Lake.

Under a Danger Advisory:

  • Do not swim or water ski
  • Do not boat
  • Keep animals away
  • Don’t drink the water
  • Consider fishing elsewhere. If you do decide to fish, clean fish well and discard guts. The accumulation of toxins in fish is not well understood
  • Learn what this means for visiting safely

KEEP OUT: Monitoring at Big East Lake on 10/17 indicated toxins were present at some areas in the waterbody.

Additional sampling updates will not be available until monitoring resumes in summer 2023. Recreators are encouraged to use caution and know how to recognize the signs of a harmful algal bloom.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on September 21, 2022

Big East Lake

DANGER ADVISORY

Utah County Health Department has issued a Danger Advisory for Big East Lake.

Under a Danger Advisory:

  • Do not swim or water ski
  • Do not boat
  • Keep animals away
  • Don’t drink the water
  • Consider fishing elsewhere. If you do decide to fish, clean fish well and discard guts. The accumulation of toxins in fish is not well understood
  • Learn what this means for visiting safely

KEEP OUT: Sampling at Big East Lake on 9/21 detected high concentrations of harmful algae in the waterbody. High levels of toxins are expected to be present.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on August 30, 2022

Big East Lake

DANGER ADVISORY

Utah County Health Department has issued a Danger Advisory for Big East Lake.

Under a Danger Advisory:

  • Do not swim or water ski
  • Do not boat
  • Keep animals away
  • Don’t drink the water
  • Consider fishing elsewhere. If you do decide to fish, clean fish well and discard guts. The accumulation of toxins in fish is not well understood
  • Learn what this means for visiting safely

KEEP OUT: Sampling at Big East Lake on 8/25 detected very high concentrations of toxins produced by harmful algae in the water.

McClellan Lake

GOOD NEWS: Our monitoring team did not see any visible signs of a harmful algal bloom. Always check before getting in the water, and know how to recognize the signs of a harmful algal bloom.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on August 25, 2022

Big East Lake

WARNING ADVISORY

Under a Warning Advisory:

BE CAREFUL: Sampling at Big East Lake on 8/25 detected high concentrations of toxin-producing algae. High concentrations of toxins were also detected. We will continue to sample and post updates here.

McClellan Lake

GOOD NEWS: Our monitoring team did not see any visible signs of a harmful algal bloom. Always check before getting in the water, and know how to recognize the signs of a harmful algal bloom.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on August 11, 2022

Big East Lake

WARNING ADVISORY

Utah County Health Department has issued a Warning Advisory for Big East Lake.

Under a Warning Advisory:

BE CAREFUL: Sampling at Big East Lake on 8/11 detected high concentrations of toxin-producing algae. High concentrations of toxins have also been detected. We will continue to sample and post updates here.

McClellan Lake

GOOD NEWS: Our monitoring team did not see any visible signs of a harmful algal bloom. Always check before getting in the water, and know how to recognize the signs of a harmful algal bloom.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on August 2, 2022

Big East Lake

WARNING ADVISORY

Utah County Health Department has issued a Warning Advisory for Big East Lake.

Under a Warning Advisory:

BE CAREFUL: Sampling at Big East Lake on 8/2 detected high concentrations of toxins and toxin-producing algae in the water. Samples will continue to be collected weekly and results posted here.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on July 22, 2022

Big East Lake

WARNING ADVISORY

Utah County Health Department has issued a Warning Advisory for Big East Lake.

Under a Warning Advisory:

BE CAREFUL: Sampling at Big East Lake on 7/21 detected high concentrations of toxin-producing algae. There may be dangerous toxins in the water.

McClellan Lake

GOOD NEWS: Our monitoring team did not see any visible signs of a harmful algal bloom. Always check before getting in the water, and know how to recognize the signs of a harmful algal bloom.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on July 21, 2022

Big East Lake

HEALTH WATCH

A Health Watch is in effect for Big East Lake

BE CAREFUL: Our monitoring team saw visible signs of a harmful algal bloom. There could be algae in the water producing dangerous toxins. We collected samples and the results are pending. Check back for updates.

In the meantime, we recommend:

McClellan Lake

GOOD NEWS: Our monitoring team did not see any visible signs of a harmful algal bloom.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms on June 29, 2022

GOOD NEWS: Our monitoring team did not see any visible signs of a harmful algal bloom.

Sites Observed: At Big East Lake NW Picnic Area Shoreline, Big East Lake at Southwest Beach, McClellan Lake, Box Lake near center

The Division of Water Quality and the Utah Department of Health will monitor this site for waterborne pathogens and harmful algal blooms this summer, beginning in June 2022. We will share updates here.