COLES COUNTY, Ill. (WAND) - It is making the water on Lake Paradise look as blue as a Caribbean paradise, but one smell will tell you it is anything but.
An especially large bloom of blue-green algae is taking over part of the lake, even forcing Mattoon to stop using it as one of their water sources.
Mattoon gets its water from Lake Mattoon and Lake Paradise. Lake Paradise is the smaller of those two sources.
Viewers sent WAND pictures of brilliant blue water at the lake.
We reached out to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Coles County Health Department and Mattoon Public Works.
Mattoon Public Works Director Dean Barber confirmed the algae is causing issues.
He said signs will be posted warning people not to swim in the lake, as the algae can cause people to become ill.
Fishing is still allowed he said, and he did not know yet of any harm to wildlife in the lake.
Mattoon will only be using Lake Mattoon as its water source for now, and Barber said water customers should not see an impact.
WAND will have more on this story tonight.
