{"id":362,"date":"2020-06-24T11:10:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T15:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/waterborne-hazards-control\/?page_id=362"},"modified":"2025-09-22T09:06:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T13:06:48","slug":"hab-recreational-awareness-advisory-signs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/waterborne-hazards-control\/harmful-algal-blooms\/virginia-hab-task-force\/hab-recreational-awareness-advisory-signs\/","title":{"rendered":"HAB Recreational Awareness, Alerts and Advisory Signs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2233 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/BeAwareofAlgaeBlooms2025-236x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"236\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/BeAwareofAlgaeBlooms2025-236x300.jpg 236w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/BeAwareofAlgaeBlooms2025.jpg 604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025-Cyanobacteria-Educational-Sign.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Be Aware of Algae Blooms<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Public access points where blooms have been known to occur may be posted with educational awareness signs such as this. This sign is recommended for locations where cyanobacteria blooms are known to occur and may be used year-round to raise awareness.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/Algal_Alert_sign_template_vertical2025.pdf\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2234 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/BeAwareofAlgalMats2025-1-237x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"237\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/BeAwareofAlgalMats2025-1-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/BeAwareofAlgalMats2025-1.jpg 745w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 237px) 100vw, 237px\" \/>Algal Mat Alert<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These signs will be placed at access points in the vicinity of waterbodies experiencing an observed cyanobacteria mat harmful algae bloom. These mats will typically retain the toxin which the cyanobacteria may be producing and therefore toxins in the water column are generally very low or below detectable levels. Therefore, avoiding contact with mat material and preventing children and pets from consuming mat material in the water or washed alongshore, should allow the recreational use of the waterbody to continue.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2120 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/06\/HAB-Warning-thumbnail-1-234x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"234\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/06\/2025-Cyanobacteria-Warning-Sign.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cyanobacteria Warning Sign<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"Content_Secondary\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/2019Cyanobacteria-Warning-Sign_SP.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">En Espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Health Department will use the &#8220;Warning&#8221; sign to indicate that a harmful algae bloom is present with toxins which exceeds <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/06\/Final-2025-Guidance_for_Cyanobacteria_Recreational_Advisory_Mgt.pdf\">recreational advisory guidance thresholds<\/a>,\u00a0or the water has visible algae scums or mats.<\/p>\n<p>At this level, the HAB Task Force initiates or continues monitoring and the local health department is recommended to issue a public notification to avoid all contact with the waterbody affected by the bloom.<\/p>\n<p>Areas with high-recreational use such as beaches, boat ramps, and marinas are ideal posting locations. This sign should only be used when there is an active cyanobacteria advisory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-793 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2021\/07\/AnimalSafetyAlertPoster_2021_CDC_1-232x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2021\/07\/AnimalSafetyAlertPoster_2021_CDC_1-232x300.png 232w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2021\/07\/AnimalSafetyAlertPoster_2021_CDC_1-792x1024.png 792w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2021\/07\/AnimalSafetyAlertPoster_2021_CDC_1-768x993.png 768w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2021\/07\/AnimalSafetyAlertPoster_2021_CDC_1.png 1165w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2021\/07\/algal_bloom_poster_CDC_2021.pdf\">Animal Safety Alert Poster<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CDC Poster for raising awareness of the potential risk which cyanobacteria blooms may pose to pets or other animals.<\/p>\n<p>Additional sizing options and the ability to order hard copies at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/habs\/materials\/posters.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CDC&#8217;s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Be Aware of Algae Blooms Public access points where blooms have been known to occur may be posted with educational awareness signs such as this. This sign is recommended for locations where cyanobacteria blooms are known to occur and may be used year-round to raise awareness. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Algal Mat Alert [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":0,"parent":286,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-362","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>HAB Recreational Awareness, Alerts and Advisory Signs - Waterborne Hazards Control<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/waterborne-hazards-control\/harmful-algal-blooms\/virginia-hab-task-force\/hab-recreational-awareness-advisory-signs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HAB Recreational Awareness, Alerts and Advisory Signs - Waterborne Hazards Control\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Be Aware of Algae Blooms Public access points where blooms have been known to occur may be posted with educational awareness signs such as this. 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