CLEARLAKE ? A second town hall meeting was held Thursday in effort of forming a community task force to address the prolific algae situation in the City of Clearlake. Members of the public expressed interest in long-term solutions as well immediate fixes.
“My main endeavor of this whole thing is to create an association of resort owners, residents and business owners,” organizer Dian Gibson, Sunset Fishing Resort owner said. “We need to come together and be a body and make it work for ourselves with the help of the county.”
Of the most beneficial comments that came from the public was Cindy Machado”s introduction of a machine created by her father designed to skim oil from the top of the water. She said the contraption is inexpensive to build and could offer a viable solution to removing the lyngbya algae mats that are currently causing such a stink in Clearlake.
Machado said that she recently tested the machine and that it successfully removed the algae. It costs about $20 to $30 to build, she said depending on the motor you chose to use. She said she uses about a $30 trolling motor in her unit. For more information regarding the machine, call Cindy Machado at 359-0968.
According to Pam Francis, deputy director of Lake County Water Resource, who was present for the meeting, there is no immediate solution the algae problem. The key, she said is prevention. She said that the clarity of the lake has been exceptional this year, which has contributed to the prolific growth of algae. Lyngbya is a bottom-growing algae she said and the clarity of the lake has allowed sunlight to penetrate to the lakebed and stimulate its growth.
“If you really want to nuke it you”ll kill everything else. Our hands are tied as far as putting in chemicals in (the lake) to kill it,” she said. “We are investigating chemicals but we have to be careful because we don”t want to hurt the lake.”
Lakebed Management Director Skip Simkins said the best solution at present is to keep water in the affected areas moving. He also said spraying the mats down with water and sinking them is effective in eliminating the odor. “The key is to keep the water moving,” he said. “I”m not saying sinking the algae is the way but it does help with the smell. It”s better to keep the water moving.”
A member of the public said that he was advised to spread barley hay on the algae and then scoop it from the water. Simkins said that while that may work for the time present, the addition of the nutrients from the hay will likely increase the problem next season. It was advised that no one attempt any sort of remediation without first contacting Lakebed Management, which can be reached at 263-2341.
According to the Bioremediation Services Web site, lyngbya is particularly difficult to control using traditional copper sulphate and chelates. The algae grow in colonies forming small spongy masses of mucilage. These blue-green, black or gray clumps will lay on the bottom or float to the surface. Because of its protective mucilage, chemical control is difficult.
Lyngbya is a cyanobacteria that is known to release toxins into the water. These three toxins, debromaoplysiatoxin, aplysiatoxin and lyngbyatoxin have been found to be major causes of dermatitis. Lake County Environmental Health has issued an advisory against swimming in, ingesting or cooking with water found in affected areas. Those at highest risk include children and pets.
Ray Ruminski, Lake County Department of Health, Environmental Health director, was on hand to address questions related to health. He again assured the public that the brownish mats that are being seen prolifically along the shores of Clear Lake are algae mats not sewage. He said testing done this year has shown higher numbers in bacteria but not in sewage-related numbers. He said had there been a sewage spill, numbers in categories such as fecal matter and coli would have been significantly higher.
Members of the public addressed issues concerning the impact the odiferous algae is having on the business community. Sam Polo, owner of Main Street Bar & Grill said that he has seen a decline in patrons. “This thing here is killing my business. Nobody wants to come down. Nobody wants to sit outside,” he said. “I”m running my air conditioner all the time and my energy bill is through the roof. If we could skim it out that would help.”
Other members of the public voiced concerns for protecting and restoring Clear Lake”s watershed and restoring the nutrient balance of the lake. Restoration of the nutrient balance can be achieved by reducing nutrient additions to Clear Lake. Nutrients come from erosion and other sources within the watershed. A key to improving the water quality in the lake is to manage the entire watershed. Many at the meeting indicated that they would like to see the community network, or association, extended throughout the entire county.
For more information or to volunteer for the organization Gibson is trying to form, contact her at 994-6642 or e-mail dgsunset@mchsi.com.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
