BENTON COUNTY, Wash. – As the 70.3-mile-long IRONMAN race approaches, athletes in Benton County are not only focusing on their preparations but also on the potential impact of toxic algae in the Columbia River, where part of the event will take place.
Julia Merrill, a competitive swim coach and participant in this year’s IRONMAN, has been training on the river with her colleagues. She says it’s something she’s constantly looking at.
“I have actually been running an open water swim clinic all summer. I’m with some tri athletes and (it’s) something I’ve been actually kind of making sure I have my finger in the pulse of, checking it regularly, making sure everybody’s safe,” said Merrill.
Recently, the Benton-Franklin Health District conducted tests along the Columbia River, where athletes will swim a 1.2-mile downstream course. Jim Coleman, climate effects specialist with the Benton-Franklin Health District says the results were promising.
“We did four additional water samples along the the swim course of the Iron Man competition,” said Coleman. “None of those samples detected any toxins above, what we call recreational thresholds… so that’s good news.”
Coleman has been actively involved in addressing concerns about toxic algae in the community, whether that be through community meetings or going out to sites himself. He says the river contains both toxic and nontoxic algae. Toxic algae presents itself as dark green mats that float along the Columbia.
Coleman did specify that conditions are aways subject to change. Toxic algae are in the Columbia River but spread out and diluted. While same-day testing is possible, like in the case of IRONMAN, it can be unreliable. Reliable tests take multiple days and must be sent out of town to labs where testing can occur.
That being said, Coleman says danger is low to athletes who stay away from mats and be safe while swimming.
“If you’re just swimming in the river… you’re not around mats… you’re ingesting very little water… I think the health risk is very low,” said Coleman.
That’s exactly what Merril says they’ll be doing as they step into the Columbia on Sunday.
“The goal is not to swallow a lot of water. So, I mean, for the most part, the water is staying out of our system,” says Merrill. “Of course, it’s in our face and sometimes in our eyes and up our nose… but the length of the swim is, you know, 20 to 40 minutes. It’s not a significant amount of time,” said Merrill.
To learn more about toxic algae, view our past coverage here.
Nonstop Local will have reporters covering the IRONMAN event this weekend. Look for updates, stories and more on our website.
