Muskingum River Sheen Harmless

State environmental officials have determined that a mysterious sheen covering the Muskingum River is an algae bloom. The Ohio E-P-A says that the sheen that spread on the river is a diatom algae bloom. Officials say that type of algae does not create harmful toxins like the blooms that have threatened Lake Erie and Grand Lake St. Mary’s in western Ohio. Officials say they don’t know how the bloom got in the river or what caused it. Muskingum County Emergency Management Agency director Bo Keck says that the substance on the river has a sheen that makes it look like oil. Its affecting the river in Muskingum and Coshocton Counties. The river is not a source of drinking water.