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Officials warn about algae in Columbia

River’s mats pose risk to humans and can be fatal for dogs

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category icon Clark County, News, Outdoors
A mat of benthic green and blue-green algae is collected from the bottom of the Shenandoah River during a harmful algal bloom. A similar type of algae was first found in the Columbia River in late 2024 and has been connected to the deaths of two dogs. (Photo provided by U.S. Geological Survey)

Clark County Public Health is warning residents of new dangers related to algae growths in local waterways. Benthic (that is, at the bottom of a body of water) algal mats found along the Columbia River have been linked to the death of two dogs.

“What we’ve talked about in Clark County for several years is planktonic algae blooms. We’ve been monitoring those in Clark County since 2007. These are the blooms that we see that are mixed into the water column. They collect in scums on the surface of the water,” Maggie Palomaki, environmental health specialist for the county, said during a Wednesday presentation to the Board of Health. “Benthic algae mats are a different type of harmful algae. We first tested these in Clark County in October 2024.”

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