Summer months and hot weather means algae blooms on Clear Lake. Few things irritate local residents more than the thick algae mats and corresponding stench when the algae dies off and rots. Lakeside homeowners call on the county to do something about the algae every summer.
It”s not that algae is new to Clear Lake. Algae has been a part of the lake for thousands of years. In fact, there are more than 130 different species of algae in the lake. There are good species of algae and bad species. Many of the species of algae provide a valuable food source for the juvenile fish in the lake and without these types of algae our fish population would only be a shadow of what it is now.
There are areas in the lake that have more algae than others. For example, Soda Bay is already experiencing algae blooms. The same thing is happening in Horseshoe Bay. The Clearlake Oaks Keys typically has large algae blooms. These areas are protected from the winds, which would disperse the algae. Last summer the area around Redbud Park in Clearlake was covered by thick algae mats.
According to Carolyn Ruttan of the Lake County Water Resources Department, the current blooms of algae are of the lyngbya variety, which is a species of blue-green algae. It can be identified by its long filaments, which resemble human hair. This algae is one that bothers most of lake users. Getting rid of it after it becomes established is a challenging task.
One of the most effective methods in combating algae is by aerating the water and keeping it below the surface. Spraying water on the algae mats will cause them to break up and sink to the bottom. In fact, a number of lakeside residents daily spray around their docks with water, which in turn disperses the algae. The sprayed water aerates the algae and causes it to sink to the bottom. Another method that has been effective in the past is to equip a pontoon boat with high-pressure water hoses and spray the algae mats. Ruttan said the county will loan out pumps to lakeside homeowners to aerate the water around their docks. To get a pump call Ruttan at 263-2256.
A number of people are wondering why there is always so much blue-green algae in the south end of the lake and so little in the north end. The prevailing winds at Clear Lake are normally west to northwesterly and they tend to push the algae to the south end. The other factor is the north end traditionally has a much larger growth of aquatic weeds, which use up the nutrients that the algae need.
Clear Lake goes through the algae blooms and weed growth every summer. They have been part of Clear Lake for millions of years and it doesn”t mean the lake is unhealthy or polluted. It”s all part of nature.
Last year the county took aggressive steps to control the weeds and algae. The weed removal was very successful but not much happened to the algae. There have been dozens of attempts in the past to control the algae and all have met with only limited success. Fifteen years ago an entrepreneur proposed hiring a fleet of aircraft to spray the lake with aluminum sulfate. He said he could clean up the lake for a mere $2 million. Down through the years there have been a number of proposals to dredge the lake. One idea was to dredge the lake to a depth of 100 feet. All have been rejected as not being practical.
In 1872, Dr. Livingston Stone (a world-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.
Most of the old-time residents say there has always been algae and that Clear Lake is misnamed. They say is should be called “Green Lake.” I remember some of my visits to Lake County in the early 1960s and the lake was covered from shore to shore with algae. Most of the local residents accept the algae as part of the history of Clear Lake. Nothing much has changed in the 50 years that I have been familiar with the lake and I expect the algae will be here for another 100,000 years.
