CLEARLAKE ? A ray of hope was cast on the community Wednesday with an algae mitigation demonstration by George Forni, II and his crew from Aquatic Environments, Inc. of Concord. Forni and two crewmen demonstrated equipment that may prove effective in addressing the burst of aquatic life that has taken hold of Clear Lake this summer.
Aquatic Environments demonstrated two pieces of equipment at Sunset Fishing Resort in Clearlake on Wednesday. Due to time and wind conditions, the demonstration will continue at 10 a.m. today in the eastern canals of the Clearlake Oaks Keys.
Forni and his crew demonstrated an “Aquamog,” which was used in conjunction with a mechanical harvester. The Aquamog is a rather hefty, barge-like piece of equipment with a boom affixed to one end and spray/release system on the back. The Aquamog can be used with its hydraulic clam bucket attachment to dig in and break up dense accumulations of algae, as was demonstrated at Sunset Fishing Resort. “In a situation like this where you have no water movement, it”s ideal,” Forni said.
After the Aquamog broke up the algae mats, the mechanical harvester moved in to collect the debris. “Normally we do use these pieces of equipment in tandem,” Forni said. “We have several pieces of equipment that work together. It depends on the situation.”
A low draft design combined with a paddle wheel and hydraulic propulsion allows the Aquamog to function in water less than six inches deep. It can also be equipped with a dredge attachment using suction to remove matter from the water. The matter then travels to the back of the Aquamog where it is released through the spray system. This technique causes the living cells in the algae to burst allowing the algae to sink back down to the bottom of the lake. “This saves a lot of money in terms of hauling the bio mass,” Pam Francis, Lake County Water Resources deputy director said.
Forni said there are several techniques effective in algae and aquatic weed mitigation. “What it may take is a small harvester to come into areas like this and clean it up and the big harvester and (transport) barge out there,” Forni said. “It may be a trial and error type of thing but we”ve solved a lot of problems on the water.”
Aquatic Environments will demonstrate additional techniques today in Clearlake Oaks. “Every application is going to be different,” Forni said. “We have a couple other tools and tricks up our sleeves. This is going to be an effort of refinement.”
Mechanical as well as manual harvesting is prohibited on Clear Lake without the proper permits. Francis said harvesting activities cannot take place within one-quarter mile of any hydrilla site or treatment area. She said that the demonstration areas were surveyed and Lakebed Management went through the mechanical harvesting permit process to ensure the demonstration areas are free of hydrilla.
Aquatic Environments, which is considering expanding its business to Lake County, provided the demonstrations free of charge. Forni said the Aquamog is available at a cost of $3,500 per day and the harvester runs $1,500 per day. “I think this brings an additional set of tools to assist in the mitigation of these algae blooms,” Francis said. “He”s not charging us for these demonstrations; it”s a really generous thing for him to do.”
More information regarding Aquatic Environments, Inc. equipment and services can be accessed at www.aquamog.com.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
