12/07/2026
Please ensure that your family and pets are safe around the water!
Look around for water patches that look bluish-green, or like green pea soup or turquoise paint: that is the blue-green algae.
Please:
🚫 Do not drink water or allow your pets to drink the water from affected water
🚫 Do not swim or play in water where a bloom is visible
Blue-green algae can be extremely harmful to people and even deadly to animals.
For more information, visit smdhu.org/algae
View the Simcoe Muskoka Distric Health Unit notice at: severn.ca/notices.
⚠️ A blue-green algae bloom has been confirmed along the south-west shore of Sparrow Lake in the Township of Severn.
Residents and visitors are advised to take precautions in areas where blue-green algae is visible. Blooms may make the water look bluish-green, or like green pea soup or turquoise paint.
Please:
🚫 Do not drink water from affected private surface water supplies
🚫 Do not swim or take part in water activities where a bloom is visible
🚫 Do not allow pets or livestock to drink or swim in affected water
🎣 Use caution when eating fish caught in areas where blooms are present
Blue-green algae can produce toxins that may be harmful to humans and animals. Symptoms can include skin, eye, or throat irritation, breathing difficulties, headaches, fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.
For more information, visit smdhu.org/algae or contact Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit Environment Ontario will continue to monitor the algae bloom and provide updates as available.
View the notice at: severn.ca/notices.
