We will provide some photos in each Bloom Watch to help everyone better identify blooms.

This week, we look at intensity. The photos above were taken on Seneca Lake last year. The first photo was a bloom spotted in October as the season was winding down. At the beginning and end of the season, blooms tend to be smaller and less intense. The bottom photo was taken on August 31st, the most active day last year. Typical of blooms in the main season, this bloom is widespread and very intense. Surprisingly, visual intensity may not correlate directly with toxicity. When Pure Waters has sampled blooms in previous years, blooms such as these two sometimes came back with about the same level of toxins. Therefore, always assume a bloom is toxic and stay away.