Alberta Health Services (AHS) has issued a cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, advisory for Little Fish Lake located about 40 kilometres east of the Town of Drumheller.
Residents living near the shores of this lake, as well as visitors to this lake, are advised to take the following precautions:
Avoid all contact with cyanobacterial blooms. If contact occurs, wash with tap water as soon as possible.
Do not swim or wade or allow your pets to swim or wade in any areas where cyanobacteria is visible.
Do not feed whole fish or fish trimmings from this lake to your pets.
Consider limiting human consumption of whole fish and fish trimmings from this lake, as it is known that fish may store toxins in their liver. (People can safely consume fish fillets from this lake).
Do not use water contaminated with cyanobacteria to water edible plants. This is particularly important for plants with edible parts exposed to the ground surface (such as cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, and other salad vegetables).
As always, visitors and residents are reminded to never drink or cook with untreated water directly from any recreational body of water, including Little Fish Lake, at any time.
Boiling of this water will not remove the toxins produced by cyanobacteria. An alternate source of drinking water should also be provided for pets and livestock, while this advisory is active.
Cyanobacteria is naturally occurring, and often becomes visible when weather conditions are calm. Appearing like scum, grass clippings, fuzz, or globs on the surface of water, cyanobacteria can be blue-green, greenish-brown, brown, and/or pinkish-red, and often smell musty or grassy.
People who come in contact with visible cyanobacteria or who ingest water containing cyanobacteria may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea and vomiting and/or diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear within one to three hours and resolve in one to two days. Symptoms in children are often more pronounced; however, all humans are at risk of these symptoms. Exposure to the bacteria may be fatal to pets.
Weather and wind conditions can cause algae blooms to move from one location in the lake to another. As such, this advisory will remain in effect for Little Fish Lake, until further notice.
Please note that waters of Little Fish Lake in which the cyanobacterial bloom is NOT visible can still be used for recreational purposes, even while this Health Advisory is in place.
If you suspect a problem related to cyanobacteria or if you require further information on health concerns and cyanobacteria, please call Health Link at 811. Additional information is also available online, at www.ahs.ca/bga.

Town of Drumheller council passed its new Traffic Bylaw, which will replace the previous, outdated traffic bylaw, during the regular Monday, June 19 council meeting.
Council previously gave first reading in July 2022 and, since then, several amendments were made based on council comments and concerns, input received during public consultations, and the recently approved pilot paid parking program.
“As council knows from previous discussions, the previous traffic bylaw is old and outdated; it’s very heavy with basically making RCMP the enforcer of the bylaw,” Protective Services director Greg Peters explained during the meeting. “Things have changed radically since (the previous traffic bylaw was passed), we now have people on staff…who have full Traffic Act authority from the province.”
Among the amendments made since first reading include a section pertaining to the new paid parking program approved by council during the June 5 council meeting, and changes to expand the length of time recreational vehicles can be parked on the street outside a residence.
This will allow recreational vehicles to be parked for a maximum of 72 consecutive hours and will also allow trailers, including recreational or travel trailers and utility trailers, to be left unattached, for up to a three day period, provided the unit is secured with appropriate wheel chocks and other measures to deter theft of the unit.
Changes were also made based on council discussion regarding school bus parking.
At first reading it was proposed to have school buses parked at designated locations; however, following council discussion, it was decided to allow school buses to continue parking on the street in front of the drivers’ residence so long as it does not compromise safety or obstruct the roadway.
There were some concerns about whether the section pertaining to the paid parking program should still be included, as the program has not been fully implemented at this time.
Mr. Peters expressed paid parking enforcement is not intended to be an “overreach” and will not be “heavy-handed.” It was also noted wording of this section provided more of an overview of the overall program, and could be further amended if necessary as the program moves forward.
Council passed the new traffic bylaw with one opposed and six in favour.