bathers denounce a lack of information

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Watch out for bacteria if you swim in Lake Bairon, in the Ardennes. The Regional Health Agency recommends, since this Wednesday, July 13, not to put your head under water, to shower after each swim and to clean your nautical leisure equipment, because of the presence of cyanobacteria in the lake. They can cause nausea, vomiting or headaches. But among vacationers and tourists, the information does not seem to have circulated.

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On the beach, hardly anyone knows that there are cyanobacteria in the water. “Ah, thank you for the information, we would have liked to be warned”, launches a holidaymaker from Belgium, who is not “not sure at all to come back”. “It worries me, I don’t want my children to get sick”, adds a mother from Sedan. Even the lifeguard says he was not alerted. “Honestly, you’re teaching me. We weren’t warned, we weren’t told anything”he declares at the microphone of France Bleu Champagne-Ardenne.

A level 1 cyanobacteria alert

According to a Lake Bairon agent, no lack of information is to be deplored. He affirms that “in relation to this bacterium, we have put up all the necessary display on the site, at the entrances and exits”. He adds that lifeguards, seasonal as lifeguards, “are briefed” and that they circulate information to swimmers. The site agent also specifies that vigilance is currently level 1, “which is not dramatic either”.

The presence of cyanobacteria is indicated on display panels at the entrance to the Lac de Bairon beach. © Radio France
– Marine Protais

He recommends bathers to take a shower immediately after bathinga message heard by Jessica. “I’ve already taken three showers today. It’s not something I’m used to doing. As soon as we go to the lake, we tell ourselves that we’ll take a shower once we get back to home, but ultimately it’s healthier to do it here.”

The ARS recommends not to put your head under water and to shower after each swim in Lake Bairon.
The ARS recommends not to put your head under water and to shower after each swim in Lake Bairon. © Radio France
– Marine Protais

For Coralie, the decision was radical: no swimming. “I don’t want to take any risk. So I freshen up in the shower and then I go back to sunbathing.” Many fear that with the high temperatures expected this week, the water quality will deteriorate, to the point that swimming will be prohibited within a few days. According to the agents of the site, samples will be taken, in Lake Bairon, every two days.


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