This dike was installed by the firefighters to prevent a group of around 70 swans from swimming towards the Groenerei and the cut, where these bacteria sometimes called “Blue algae“are currently the most present.
Worried about the health of the swans usually present at the Wijngaardplein, the city of Bruges had first, for two weeks, confined the volatiles to the Beguinage, out of the water. It was then decided to install a floating dike which separates them from the dangerous areas, by delimiting for them one “swimming area“To their normal location. The city also asks tourists and walkers not to give animal crumbs.
As part of a project called “Blue4green“, Bruges also envisages the different options to improve the water quality of its channels. If cyanobacteria, in the event of too abundant proliferation, are toxic to humans, whether by ingestion, skin contact or inhalation, they are also dangerous for animals that live on water. The heat and the sun in recent days have rather favored their development.