Originally published on February 15, 2024 The shallow waters of Lake DeWeese Reservoir froze solid enough for locals to partake in an ice fishing tournament held last January, but in the summer, the same locals will await the announcement that the innocent-looking waters have become too toxic to touch by any member of the mammalian persuasion. Year after year, an ancient water organism with the ability to turn light and available nutrients in the water into food for the organism grows in DeWeese. This generally benign process of Cyanobacteria growth only becomes toxic for reasons not completely understood by scientists, but the layman knows that it happens every year in the waters of DeWeese; it is only a question of when. The common name for…
