Blue-green algae has folks in Ohio, Michigan drinking bottled water; Could it happen here?

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN (WITI) -- The state DNR says it continues to monitor blue-green algae in Northeast Wisconsin bodies of water. The algae has been a concern for people and animals using waterways like Lake Winnebago for recreation.

For two days last week, 400,000 people in Ohio and southeast Michigan had to drink bottled water.

That was a direct cause of toxins from algae. So could that happen in Wisconsin?

The director of Appleton's water system says it's unlikely, for now.

"Blue-green algae's been a concern for water providers for probably ten years," Appleton's Director of Utilities Chris Shaw said.

Shaw says the city of Appleton has the infrastructure to handle it.

"We have a number of different chemicals throughout the treatment processes doing different things," Shaw said.

Algae typically builds up close to shore.

Appleton pulls its water from near the center of Lake Winnebago -- and so does Menasha, Neenah and Oshkosh.

"The systems we have currently on Lake Winnebago are able to treat for microcystin," Chris Elmore with the Wisconsin DNR said.

Microcystin is a toxin from blue-green algae. The DNR says it is closely following research from a UW-Milwaukee health professor.

"We're definitely looking at the issue. It's always concerning when you see levels of a contaminant, in this case microcystin increasing so dramatically," Elmore said.

Elmore says levels of the toxin in Lake Winnebago are ten times higher than they were 13 years ago. Treatment plants are able to remove it.

However, there are no state or federal regulations about acceptable levels of microcystin.

The Northeast Wisconsin Clean Water Action Council believes there should be.

"I think residents need to be assured that their drinking water is safe," Dean Hoegger with the Clean Water Action Council said.

If water was contaminated by the algae, it could cause diarrhea, vomiting and liver problems.

Elmore says the DNR isn't as concerned with drinking water and blue-green algae in the waters of Green Bay. That's because only one municipality in the state gets its drinking water from the bay.

"Knowing where Marinette's intake is into the lake, it heads north into the state of Michigan waters," Elmore said.

Elmore says algal blooms have not recently occurred that far north in the bay.

The city of Menominee, Michigan also gets its drinking water from Green Bay.

However, the city of Green Bay and many surrounding communities get water from Lake Michigan off the shores of Kewaunee and Manitowoc counties.