A bloom of dangerous blue-green algae across the western part of Lake Erie has people worried here what might happen if it reaches the eastern shore.

But Tom Hersey, Erie County’s commissioner of environment and planning, said people don’t need to worry about it.

The eastern shore of Lake Erie, along Buffalo and Hamburg, is deeper than the western part of the lake, making it more difficult for the algae to bloom.

In other parts of the country, people are posting on social media about their pets getting sick or dying after being exposed to blue-green algae.  

While it does have people worried, Hersey said crews are proactively working to make sure it doesn’t bloom here.

One proactive step they’ve taken is to prevent the flow of certain nutrients that blue-green algae uses to grow like untreated water, sewage or run-off from farms like manure.

They are actively working with communities along Lake Erie to prevent its growth.

“I wouldn't worry about that type of algae issue if you are swimming at our Lake Erie beaches and those kinds of things,” Hersey said. “We do have some bacteria loading things which are not anywhere near the level of the algae and the toxic algae concerns and we have extensive programs for testing and samples when bacteria levels are too high.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to harmful algae blooms can cause abdominal pain, neurological issues and vomiting.

Hersey said if people see a blue-green algae bloom, they should report that to the county’s Department of Environmental Protection.

Officials in Chautauqua County are monitoring the health of Chautauqua Lake after samples sent for testing came back positive for the harmful algae. Doug Conroe, executive director of the Chautauqua Lake Association, blames “concentrated herbicide use in the affected areas” for the bloom, calling it an “unintended but preventable consequence of large scale herbicide use.”