The Bowman-Haley Dam in Bowman County is under a Harmful Algal Bloom Warning.
Watershed management program director Josh Wert says they’ve been testing that waterbody twice a week for a different project and the tests recently came up positive for harmful algal blooms.
"We have a three-tier system in the state of North Dakota. We start with tier one, which is low, tier 2 is an advisory, and tier 3 is a warning. Bowman-Haley for instance, is at a high enough level, and it is across a certain percentage of the lake. From the result that we received from the lab, and then from our actual in person visit, we deemed it as a warning."
Wert says the cool, wet weather has kept bloom numbers down. This is the first waterbody in the state that tested positive for harmful algal blooms this year.
The Harmful Algal Bloom Warning will remain in effect for the Bowman-Haley Dam until the bloom is eliminated.
Until then, Wert says to stay out of the water.
"For a busy weekend like this, what we would recommend is, for a warning, avoid contact with water. Individuals should not take part in contact recreational activities like swimming, water skiing, kayaking, or paddle boarding for example and then do not allow pets in the water."