Blue-green algae blooms at Eno River State Park

Durham, N.C. — The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation issued a warning Friday that potentially dangerous blue-green algae has bloomed in an abandoned rock quarry in the Eno River State Park.

The 60-foot-deep quarry, off Laurel Ridge Road and east of Pleasant Green Road, is a popular gathering spot in the Cabe Lands section of the park.

Park visitors should not ingest the water, keep pets from swimming or drinking it, and not allow children to play along the shoreline. Park officials said swimming and diving is always discouraged due to steep drop-offs and underwater hazards in the quarry.

Park staff will regularly patrol the area and inform visitors of the warning.

Blue-green is actually a photosynthetic type of Cyanobacteria, which under certain conditions can produce toxins.

In humans, those toxins can cause allergy-type reactions, such as rashes, circulatory irritation and asthma, headaches, fever, nausea, cramps, vomiting and malaise.

In pets, blue-green algae can cause lethargy, loss of appetite, seizures, vomiting and convulsions.