After holding several public meetings on algae and Clear Lake weeds around the county, there have been a number of suggestions as to what can be done to improve the lake”s condition.
The suggestions range from mechanical harvesting of the weeds and algae to dredging the lake. Of course, the problem for the county is to come up with the money to pay for it. Several county residents, including Supervisor Jeff Smith, have called for a launching fee for all boats on the lake or a yearly fee.
Whereas there is nothing wrong with charging a fee to use the lake, the problem is how to enforce it and how much should be charged. Taking a look at the various fees that might be used shows they all have problems. First off, the county should forget about a launching fee. The primary launch ramps in the county are at Library Park in Lakeport and Redbud Park in Clearlake. Both ramps are owned by the respective cities and the county doesn”t have the authority to impose a launch fee. Both ramps also use state boater sticker money to maintain the ramps. If a fee were to be imposed, the state would require all funds received be used to maintain those ramps. Funds raised couldn”t be used to remove weeds and algae from the rest of the lake.
The other problem is that many of the boats on the lake are kept at private docks or launched from one of the more than 600 private ramps located around the lake. An imposed fee would put the burden on the small percentage of boaters who use the public ramps as their launching site. Boaters who launch elsewhere would basically get a free pass.
An annual boat fee may be the answer but it would have to be closely monitored. In other words, the money raised from such a fee would have to go into a special account and could only be used to improve the lake. If the money were placed in the general fund, it could be tapped for other uses. The fee should also be no more than $25 per year and a lake use sticker would be issued. That would also replace the current quagga mussel sticker that costs $10.
However, there is also a problem with an annual boating fee. There is some question as to whether it”s legal. California actually owns Clear Lake. Lake County acts as a caretaker for the state and would probably have to get permission to enact a boater sticker fee. If the state gave its permission it would probably demand a portion of the fee.
The other problem is that most of the algae problems occur in the channels such as the Clearlake Oaks Keys and the Lakeport Lagoons. Both waterways are private because they were dredged out. Lakeside residents who have docks are required to pay an annual dock encroachment fee. The funds derived from those fees are used by Lakebed Management to maintain buoys and other lake enhancement work. However, the homeowners in the Keys aren”t assessed dock encroachment fees and it”s doubtful that the county would pay to remove the algae and weeds from these channels.
There”s also the question of whether it”s feasible or cost effective to remove the algae from along the shorelines and the weeds from the lake? Clear Lake is so large with its 44,000 surface acres that the cost would be prohibitive and the methods applied not very effective. Algae could be controlled in the channels by aerating the water or even using mechanical methods to remove it. One way to pay for algae control is for the homeowners in the Keys to establish a fund.
As for the aquatic weeds, the best bet is to create channels from the shoreline out to the middle of the lake where there are no weeds so boaters can still use the lake. This could be done by spraying a herbicide and the county could pay for it. That means private dock owners would have to pay to remove the weeds from around their docks.
All of these are long-range solutions and it will take several years of planning to get a program in place. Until then, the best we can hope for is a lot of rain this winter, which will solve most of the algae and weed problems.
