There was just a little easing of the drought on the 8th when there was around 10 mm of rain, but then we were straight back into another hot dry week. Sadly, the high temperatures and nutrient pollution in the lake led to a significant bloom of blue-green bacteria and water clarity declined greatly early in the month, as has happened in previous years with blooms. I could see the floating clumps of Oscillatoria and the abundance of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, both of which are known sometimes to be toxic. At the beginning of the month the lake level was below the crest of the outfall weir, so practically no water went down the brook from the lake. However, the old pipe that issues near the toilet block continued with a trickle. This pipe carries the surface water drainage from much of Home Park Road, so clearly there are springs or leaks in this area that provide a tiny flow even in drought times. After the 8th, water flowed down the new course of the brook for a day or two, and it was noted that this was milky in appearance and that there were some suds where it flowed over an obstruction. This is typical of lake water with algal blooms and was, therefore, not indicative of a pollution incident.
