City of Orlando issues LAKE ALERT for Lake Arnold

February 25, 2022

On February 25, 2022, the City of Orlando staff tested water samples from Lake Arnold and determined that potentially unsafe concentrations of toxins are present in the lake. As a precaution, we are advising everyone to refrain from swimming, recreating and irrigating in/from Lake Arnold until further notice.

For reference, cyanobacteria/blue-green algae are always present in the water, however, not all bacteria have the ability to produce toxins. Toxicity is hard to predict because a single species of algae can have toxic and non-toxic strains. Nothing can be done to treat algae blooms without causing massive fish kills. Due to this, the city will work closely with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to closely monitor Lake Arnold. The city staff will continue to routinely test the lake, but the city's tests will only provide an update on the presence of toxins. The official toxin determination is obtained from FDEP's laboratory data, and until the levels are deemed safe by state standards, the Lake Alert will remain in effect.

Please encourage your neighbors to register for the Lake Alert at orlando.gov/lakealert so they too will get important information about Lake Arnold directly.

In the meantime, as we stated above, the city would advise refraining from swimming, recreating and irrigating in/from the lake until further notice.