As the hot weather hits Clear Lake, so has aquatic weed growth and algae blooms. Several people around the lake this past week reported that the water around their docks had turned a dark brown.
Brown algae is just one of several species of algae in Clear Lake. In addition aquatic weeds are now sprouting to the surface in many areas. The algae and the weeds have more than a few users of the lake concerned.
Clear Lake goes through algae blooms and weed growth every summer, a cycle that has repeated itself for millions of years. It doesn”t mean the lake is unhealthy or polluted, it”s just part of nature. However, the county is taking aggressive steps this year to control the weeds and algae. How successful the county is remains to be seen.
There have been dozens of attempts in the past to control the algae and aquatic weeds and all have met with only limited success.
In 1872, Dr. Livingston Stone (a renown scientist) visited Clear Lake and wrote in his journal that during the month of August the algae was so thick that he couldn”t push his boat through it. The same thing has happened in the past five years. Some years the algae is not too bad and others the lake is a virtual swamp.
According to Water Resources Director Scott De Leon, the county will spend upward of $1 million this year to control the weeds and algae on Clear Lake. He said the county has spent more than $200,000 to date to hire three spraying boats and two mechanical harvesters. The plan is to have the mechanical harvesters create an open water lane along many of the lakeside residents” docks.
In addition there will be boat lanes created allowing access to the main body of the lake where boaters can wakeboard and use their personal watercraft. The weeds out several hundred yards from shore will be pretty much left alone. The county will only pay for weed and algae control on the main body of the lake.
The channels, such as the Lakeport Lagoons and Clearlake Oaks Keys, are the responsibility of the landowners who have homes there.
For example, the property owners in Catfish Slough, located near Lakeport, paid for a mechanical harvester to remove the heavy concentration of azolla and primrose from their channel. The property owners in the Lakeport Lagoons and Pier 1900 also paid for a harvester to remove the aquatic weeds in their channels.
Algae tends to be more of a problem. About the only effective method of controlling the algae is by aeration, which means spraying the surface with a high power hose. The aeration of the water causes the algae mats to break up and sink to the bottom. This was successfully done near Redbud Park last summer. Another method was to break up the thick algae mats with boats. A few lakeside property owners installed sprayers on the docks and pumped water from the lake through the sprayers, which aerated the water. The county has portable spraying units they will loan to property owners.
Ken Taddie, co-owner of the Indian Beach Resort in Glenhaven, said he had a serious problem with a thick algae bloom around the resort”s docks two weeks ago. The resort”s guests couldn”t swim at their beach. He said he called Water Resources and they sent out a portable sprayer.
By the next day, the water was clear and the guests were swimming and fishing from the docks.
“Our resort has been booked solid all summer and recreational use of the lake is vital for our business,” Taddie said. “When the algae formed I thought we were in big trouble, but a call to Water Resources solved our problem and it didn”t cost us anything,” Taddie said.
Heavy blooms of algae can also impact the fishing. Algae uses up the oxygen in the water and the fish have to either move out or suffer damage. Massive algae blooms in the south end of the lake a year ago forced many of the fishermen to look for new waters.
The aquatic weeds and algae show just how dynamic Clear Lake is. Actually, the lake has changed little down through the eons with the exception of homes along the lake. A million years ago there was algae and a million years from now there will still be algae and aquatic weeds. It”s part of the nature of Clear Lake.
