BELLEFONTAINE — Toxins from a bacteria outbreak has led the YMCA to close the lake at a summer camp in western Ohio not far from Grand Lake St. Marys, a major lake with a similar problem. YMCA of Central Ohio President John Bickley says Silver Lake at Camp Willson near here was put off limits following the discovery of cyanobacteria earlier this month. Bickley says one water sample showed a related liver toxin at a level 50 times higher than what’s considered safe for swimmers.
Experts say this summer’s hot and rainy weather has helped to fuel toxic bacteria in rivers and lakes throughout the state. Another body of water named Silver Lake, a 17-acre private lake outside New Carlisle in Miami County, is not affected by the bacteria, said Jim Heberling, president of the Silver Lake Beach Club.
