Algal Bloom Closes Portion Of Land Bank's New Dog Park

A portion of the Nantucket Land Bank’s new dog park on Miacomet Road has been closed indefinitely following the discovery of a toxic algal bloom in standing water within the park.

The area for large dogs was closed Monday as a precaution, and Nantucket Land Bank executive director Jesse Bell said Tuesday that preliminary testing by the town’s Natural Resources Department indicated a puddle in the dog park was indeed an algal bloom.

“There was some algal bloom caused by nutrient levels at the park,” Bell said. “It was the right combination between standing water and dog waste that caused it. We immediately shut down the dog park when we received notice.”

Algal blooms, typically found in the island’s large ponds during the warm summer months, are toxic and can cause severe health issues for dogs that ingest water from them.

On Tuesday morning, the Land Bank conducted a full staff meeting at the dog park to assess the situation. Right now there is no timetable for reopening that portion of the park, Bell said, while the Land Bank evaluates options that include regrading certain areas or installing small inlet grates - like yard drains - to address the standing water issue.

The Land Bank is also considering the installation of “micro-clover” on the turf to address the excess nitrogen issue.

“The safety of the public and the dogs is the top priority,” Bell said. “We don’t want to be back here in six months again and we don’t want to have to do this twice.”

Land Bank Commission member John Stackpole added: “We went how long on Nantucket without a dog park? We can make it a few weeks."