LAKEPORT — The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) Tuesday discussed a proposal for algae abatement in Clear Lake as well as the lake”s inflows and outflows.
Microbetech is a Nevada-based bioremediation company that uses naturally-occuring, non-genetically modified microbes to clean up pollution and restore water, according to company president Allan Buckmann.
Buckmann said Microbetech first performed work in Lake County in the early 1990s. He said the company deployed microbes into Forest Lake in Cobb when it was full of algae.
Buckmann said the microbes naturally compete for and consume the nutrients that make algae blooms grow and reach nuisance levels for odor and appearance. He said Forest Lake was treated with the microbes in 1993 and again in 1994 and has not had algae blooms since.
Buckmann, who was accompanied by CEO John Pepin and ecologist Alex Foschi, said the company”s product, known as AQ-4, is a dried mix of natural beneficial microbes, enzymes and elements used to consume excess nutrients and pollution.
Buckmann said it is available for $86 per pound, which can treat up to four acre-feet of water, though he added they generally use one pound per surface acre.
Buckmann, Pepin and Foschi prepared a proposal for the supervisors.
The plan proposed to use AQ-4, along with oxygen diffusers, at as many as 27 different locations around the lake. The locations consisted of creek and stream inflows. The oxygen diffusers would be used in eight locations near Soda Bay, Konocti Bay, Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks.
The total for the proposal, which included specific use plans for each identified area, was approximately $384,000 per year. The plan proposed a four-year evaluation period to monitor the results.
The supervisors expressed interest in the proposal.
BOS Chair Rob Brown said he was familiar with Microbetech and would often bring up employing their plan when discussing algae abatement options. He said the county should try the method out at appropriate areas, such as Middle Creek and areas around Lucerne.
District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington said he was open to the plan but was hesitant, because the company claims AQ-4 does not require a permit for it to be used because it is a natural product.
District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing, who has an environmental engineering degree, said the problem in Clear Lake is a balance problem, with the goal being to accelerate the lake”s natural processes of balancing itself. She said algae has become the dominant species in the lake and the goal is to get the balance back.
Public Works Director Scott De Leon said he had not seen enough data from Microbetech to endorse the proposal for the supervisors. He said he would like to see endorsements from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Pepin said the company had a history of support from both organizations during the 1990s.
Brown said a lot had changed since 1992.
Rushing said she doubted the DFG and EPA would have problems with Microbetech”s proposed treatment method.
District 1 Supervisor Jim Comstock said he was supportive of the proposal but wanted to see updated approvals from the DFG and EPA.
Brown said the BOS needed written approvals or statements that Microbetech”s proposed method does not need a permit for use.
The discussion was put on hold until Microbetech submits written approvals to the BOS.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14. Follow on Twitter: @KevinNHume.
