Toulouse: a bacterium detected in the lake of La Ramée, swimming is prohibited
From July 14 and until further notice, swimming is prohibited at the Lac de la Ramée leisure center. The ARS, alerted by the proliferation of algae in the basin, detected a cyanobacterium in the water. New analyzes are carried out in the days to come.
On July 14, the beach at the Ramée leisure center should be crowded. However, despite the heat and the barely executed afternoon, there is plenty of space in the parking lot. Attached to the information panel at the entrance to the supervised beach, an A4 sheet, scribbled by hand: “Beach closed. Cause: Presence of bacteria. Thanks ! Just above, the official decree of the town of Tournefeuille, which strictly prohibits swimming and the practice of water sports, because of a proliferation of cyanobacteria in the water. The event, which repeated itself during periods of high heat, had already been detected in June at Lac de Sesquières and last summer, in August, at Lac de la Ramée.
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Insufficient prevention
Marie-Lou and Kylian are CFS first aiders. They regularly go out on bicycles and circle the lake, to warn swimmers of the ban on swimming and the risks linked to contamination with cyanobacteria, but their task is not easy: “Apart from advising them to don’t get in the water, they admit, we can’t do anything, we’re not the police! “Today, because of the closure of the leisure base, the lifeguards have been deployed in the municipal swimming pools, and there are only six rescuers to take care of prevention throughout the territory of the lake. , an area of 248 hectares. “In addition, it is hot, they continue. It’s hard to convince people to stay on the beach. Indeed, the cyanobacterium is not to be underestimated. After swimming, it can cause skin and eye irritation, pimples, tremors, fever, abdominal and muscle pain and even nausea and vomiting. This morning, inform the rescuers, a seven-year-old child was assisted after having bathed yesterday in the waters of the Ramée.
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Shared bathers
On the other side of the lake, on the swimmer side, the answers vary. Many, like Chanel and Marvin, choose to take the risk anyway: “And if we get sick, too bad! They shout from the water, where they are up to the torso. We bathe in lots of places that are not controlled, tonight we rinsed well when we got back, and then we were off! “Further, Élodie, visibly pregnant, is not of the same opinion:” I do not know if it is dangerous, but I will still not take the risk. “Like her, not far away, a group of young people are packing their bags: “We are biology students and we have just heard the announcement related to cyanobacteria. We will never bathe in this water! As they leave, they discourage the most courageous swimmers, who are not lacking.
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Philippe Plantade, vice-president of Toulouse Métropole and mayor of Bruguières, is sorry: “It is hot, and we are sorry to have closed the leisure base. But the results of the ARS analysis left us with no choice. From tomorrow, we will repeat the tests, but, I fear, a reopening in the weekend is unlikely. »
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