CLEARLAKE — Private drinking water systems in Clearlake were the topic of a webinar presented by the County of Lake’s Water Resources and Public Health Department on Wednesday evening.
Hosted by Angela DePalma-Dow, coordinator of the Water Resources Invasive Species Program, the meeting discussed how contaminants are identified in drinking water.
“We have four main types of activities that we’re doing, DePalma Dow said. “One is supporting the Big Valley team in what they’ve been doing all along, another is to provide more information to the folks who live around the lake as well as to visitors to the area about the impact of blooms, that we often call ‘HABs’ for short for harmful algal blooms.”
DePalma Dow added that another activity they engage in is to identify homes that are not on public water systems, having identified almost 500 of them through water testing and examining the results.
Added Susan Paulukonis, program director at the CA Rare Disease Surveillance Program, “Harmful algal blooms are not new organisms. They are tremendously old, probably billions of years. Starting in around 2009, folks began to notice that they were getting more common, lasting longer. There were smells that were coming with them. They were starting to have a lot of real impacts. That’s when Big Valley started to really pay attention to some of the other tribes in the areas as well.”
With lower water levels on Clear Lake because of the drought, the temperature of the water is naturally going to warm, and there is going to be less flow, which leads to more blooms, according to Paulukonis.
“We focus a lot on both human and animal illness for humans. What we typically see are milder reactions. It depends on what the toxin is that people have been exposed to or the bloom itself. They can have allergic reactions to the bloom material, to mist coming off the bloom, or if they ingest it while they’re swimming, which can cause gastrointestinal upset. Dogs in particular are very likely to be impacted in a more severe way,” Paulukonis said. “It’s very hard to get rid of the blooms once they’ve started. A big impact that we’re seeing is on drinking water. It’s really helpful to control the runoff of water off your property, in particular if you use fertilizers or have a septic tank. Drainage matters here.”
David Chang, project coordinator at Tracking California said, “We conducted a survey (last summer) around Clearlake. It was a combination of paper as well as an online survey. We were collecting paper surveys at a farmers’ market and the lake perimeter. We were at a local park and then there was also a big push via radio and social media to try and get the word out about it. The purpose of the survey was to try to understand how people are using the lake – both residents and visitors – if they encounter HABs, what they do in those situations, and how we could maybe potentially change information, get education now and inform people about signage.”
The survey had a total of 412 different responses.
“The good news is that 94% of respondents were aware of HABs in Clearlake; 64% of the respondents lived in town full-time, and a big majority of folks had experienced a health issue related to HABs. There was also close to 40% of respondents that had pets or livestock that reported symptoms potentially related to HABs as well.”
To report blooms and human and animal illnesses, visit mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs. Remember to avoid contact with blooms and do not swim in areas with warning or danger signs. Control runoff of soils and fertilizers and manage septic tanks.
