ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — CyanoHABs are cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms and have been referred to as blue-green algae. They naturally occur in our freshwater systems and typically are present in low numbers. However, under certain conditions, they can multiply rapidly and start to form these harmful blooms.  “They’ll be so much in the water, either near the surface or at the very bottom, that it discolors the water and the water can kind of look blue-green,” says Kate Ott, who is the public health director in Ontario County. “Typically when I think of blue-green algae I think of sort of that light green, almost shiny, typical paint-like film that you’ve seen in pictures of blue-green algae.” Cyanobacteria thrives in an environment where there are a ton of nutrients present. This can then lead to the growth of cyanoHABS.  “We think there’s a variety of factors that are contributing to them,” says Lindsay McMillan, who is the association director of Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association. “One of which is that we have a changing climate quite frankly. This is bringing more intense precipitation events to our watersheds and with these intense rain events, we see polluted runoff in many cases.”  It is important to look before you leap not only for yourself but for your pets as well because they could become ill from these HABs.  “Excessive exposure for dogs can cause stumbling,even seizures or convulsions, excessive salvation or drooling. They could just be acting differently or have difficulty breathing,” Ott says. “As a human we want to avoid them, but also best to keep your dogs or pets out of the water when there are known algal blooms.” Unfortunately, this is not only just a problem in Canandaigua Lake, but rather all of the Finger Lakes. However, these associations are now using local residents and citizens to help with reporting to keep everyone safe.  “A lot of us have really robust volunteer monitoring programs where we are training citizens to actually observe the blooms and then file a report online,” says McMillan. “Where they are uploading images of the harmful algal blooms and then we get really good information coming in from the community.” Local experts and health officials continue to put emphasis on making sure you look before you leap. If you believe that you or your pet might have been exposed, take precautions, such as hosing yourself and your pet down and watching for symptoms, such as rashes, irritated eyes or scratchy throat. Click here to view the DEC's map of HABs.