ROANOKE, Va. — The swimming advisory for the upper part of the Blackwater arm of Smith Mountain Lake will be in place until at least mid-August, according to the Smith Mountain Lake Association.
The advisory has been in place for parts of the lake for more than a month now due a harmful algae bloom.
The Smith Mountain Lake Association said the most recent testing results show all the latest samples taken had acceptable levels of algae in the water. But before the swimming advisory can be lifted, there must be another set of samples with acceptable levels collected a minimum of 10 days later.
And because of how many waterways the department of environmental quality manages, health officials said that won't happen for two weeks — and there's at least another week delay on the results of the testing.
One official with the lake association said they plan to talk with local and state leaders about how they can shorten this process in the future.
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