Cyanobacteria Toxicity Testing Program
These water bodies had toxin levels above the state's recreational guidance values:
-
Lost Lake, Snohomish County: sample collected on September 9
-
Toad Lake, Whatcom County: sample collected on September 9
-
Spanaway Lake, Pierce County: sample collected on September 9
-
Lower Granite Reservoir (Snake River), Whitman County: sample collected on September 9
-
Steilacoom Lake, Pierce County: sample collected on September 10
-
Seabreeze Lake, Pacific County: sample collected on September 14
-
Pass Lake, Skagit County: sample collected on September 15
Prior approval from Ecology is required for sample submittal. Please reach out to Joseph Teresi before sample submission to the lab.
Visit the Washington State Toxic Algae website for more information, including searching for toxin results for your water body, how to report a bloom, and news. Please visit the Washington State Department of Health's Harmful Algal Blooms Toolkit for additional information and guidance.
Ecology's Freshwater Algae Control Program provides funds for water body managers and residents to test for common toxins produced by harmful freshwater algae (i.e., cyanobacteria).
Ecology funds this testing and shares the laboratory’s preliminary analytical data results. Water body managers should follow Department of Health recreational guidance for freshwater algal toxins and for managing water bodies impacted by harmful algal blooms. Preliminary results are provided in the table below. For the most up-to-date water body advisory information, please contact your local health department or water body manager.
Preliminary Results* 9/9/2026 - 9/16/2026
|
Water body
|
County
|
Date
|
Microcystins
|
Anatoxin-a
|
Saxitoxin
|
Cylindrospermopsin
|
|
Lost Lake
|
Snohomish
|
9/9/26
|
43.5 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
<MDL
|
<MDL
|
|
Wagner Lake
|
Snohomish
|
9/9/26
|
5.8 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
<MDL
|
PENDING
|
|
Lake Chain
|
Snohomish
|
9/9/26
|
<MDL
|
<MDL
|
<RDL (0.036)
|
PENDING
|
|
Moses Lake
|
Grant
|
9/9/26
|
1.9 µg/L
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Toad Lake
|
Whatcom
|
9/9/26
|
32.3 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Spanaway Lake
|
Pierce
|
9/9/26
|
717 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Alder Lake
|
Pierce
|
9/9/26
|
<MDL
|
<MDL
|
<MDL
|
PENDING
|
|
Lower Granite Reservoir (Snake River)
|
Whitman
|
9/9/26
|
33.9 µg/L
|
0.091 µg/L
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Steilacoom Lake
|
Pierce
|
9/10/26
|
561 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
<MDL
|
<MDL
|
|
Bay Lake
|
Pierce
|
9/10/26
|
0.7 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Rufus Woods Lake (Columbia River)
|
Douglas
|
9/10/26
|
<MDL
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Lake Ballinger
|
Snohomish
|
9/14/26
|
0.4 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Seabreeze Lake
|
Pacific
|
9/14/26
|
28.2 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Round Lake
|
Clark
|
9/14/26
|
6.6 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Lake Lawrence
|
Thurston
|
9/14/26
|
2.6 µg/L
|
<RDL (0.012)
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Bay Lake
|
Pierce
|
9/14/26
|
5.8 µg/L
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Moses Lake (Lower Peninsula Park)
|
Grant
|
9/14/26
|
PENDING
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Moses Lake (Sand Dunes)
|
Grant
|
9/14/26
|
PENDING
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Lone Lake
|
Island
|
9/14/26
|
PENDING
|
0.45 µg/L
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Pass Lake
|
Skagit
|
9/15/26
|
PENDING
|
59.0 µg/L
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Toad Lake
|
Whatcom
|
9/15/26
|
PENDING
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Lake Padden
|
Whatcom
|
9/15/26
|
PENDING
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Sunset Pond
|
Whatcom
|
9/16/26
|
PENDING
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Clear Lake
|
Thurston
|
9/16/26
|
PENDING
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Offutt Lake
|
Thurston
|
9/16/26
|
PENDING
|
<MDL
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
Washington State Recreational Guidance Values
|
≥ 8 µg/L
|
≥ 1 µg/L
|
≥ 75 µg/L
|
≥ 15 µg/L
|
Analytical Notes
*Preliminary results are provided and may change prior to final results being reported. Final results will be available at the Washington State Toxic Algae website.
µg/L = micrograms per liter
NA = analysis was not requested
PENDING = prep/analysis in progress
MDL = Method Detection Limit
RDL = Reporting Detection Limit
|
