LAKE COUNTY ? Officials representing all jurisdictions of the county came together Tuesday for a boat tour on Clear Lake. Supervisors, county administrators and council members from the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport joined in the trip, which provided the officials with a first-hand view of the aquatic life flourishing in the lake.
Officials also got to experience the problems that affect marine vessels when navigating the waters.
The tour was hosted by Roy and Kory Disney, of Disney Water Sports in Lakeport. The guides illustrated how the prolific presence of aquatic weeds is causing detriment to their business and adding increased expenses in vessel repairs this season.
Disney Water Sports offers rental of a variety of marine vessels such as boats and personal watercrafts. Roy Disney said that the economy is not what”s killing his business; it”s the condition of the lake. “They are getting here, making their reservations but they get on the lake and after a day they want to leave,” he said.
Disney illustrated the dilemma boaters are faced with when navigating Clear Lake”s waters, stopping the boat periodically to clear the buildup of aquatic plants from the propeller of the boat. When the weeds are not removed, it causes the motor to overheat and eventually seize. Disney”s boats are equipped with an audio warning system signally stress on the propeller, not all patrons, he said, adhere to the instructions they are given before they go out to the lake. Aquatic weeds have cost him more than $10,000 in vessel repairs alone, he said.
The problems aren”t limited to the boats either. “They have to get off the Waverunner and into the muck and a lot of people won”t do that,” Disney said. “You have to get in there and clear it out or else the (personal watercraft) will overheat and won”t run anymore.”
Disney said that treatment around the boat launching areas in Lakeport has helped, but a challenge is still present in getting lake-users into the deeper parts of the lake where weeds are less prolific. He said without treatment efforts boat ramps would be unusable. Treatments were conducted in cooperation with the city, county and Lakeport business community.
The boat tour provided officials an opportunity to share ideas for remediation, which basically lies in the restoration of area watersheds. District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing said that the core problem is in the amount of nutrients released into the lake. The county”s grading ordinance, the Middle Creek Restoration Project and other development and land use regulations are currently in place to better control nutrient deposits. Rushing said that prevention also lies in rim land education. “Everyone who touches the lake affects it,” she said. “And we need to keep the tules.”
District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington sited that the lake has gotten consistently clearer throughout the past several years. He attributes this to a decrease in nutrients through the remediation efforts. He said more needs to be done and on a wider-scope to encompass all issues relative to aquatic life.
Farrington said that the Board of Supervisors will hold a discussion regarding the issue at its regular meeting next Tuesday. The discussion will assist in creating a dialogue for achieving better lakebed management. “We will be discussing funding, resources and opportunities, from property assessments, to ballot measures, launching fees, a special tax for watercrafts, etc.,” he said. “I”m not saying I advocate any one of these options; I”m saying we”re going to explore everything.”
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
