RIDOH and the Department of Environmental Management say the public should avoid contact with a section of Tiogue Lake near Briar Point Beach in Coventry due to an algae bloom.
Contact with the blue-green algae can irritate the skin, nose, eyes, and throat and ingesting it can cause stomachache, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, fever, liver or nervous system damage.
People or pets who come into contact with the contaminated water should wash their skin with clean water as soon as possible, then bathe and wash their clothes.
(Photo: RI Department of Environmental Management)