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Last year, an outbreak of Lyngbya birgei resulted in serious issues for the lake, with the large, rotting mats keeping visitors away and causing alarm amongst residents, as Lake County News has reported.
Water Resources Program Coordinator Pamela Francis said some short-duration blooms have already occurred in the waters off of Clearlake and Clearlake Park, but the department has been monitoring the blooms.
To date, Francis said they haven't observed high quantities of Lyngbya birgei, the bottom-dwelling type of blue-green algae that created the problems last summer.
Nevertheless, officials are on the watch because of what Francis called “exceptional” water clarity, especially in the lake's upper arm.
That clarity, while considered by many to be a positive quality for the lake, is problematic because it gives algae the sunlight needed to grow, Francis explained.
“We certainly don't want it to happen like it did last year,” she said.
Since 1988, the county has only seen lyngbya four times, showing up for the first time in 1997, with instances also reported in 1998, 2001 and 2003, said Francis.
But she said those occurrences were orders of magnitude less than the 2009 outbreak.
In previous years, the cells per liter had measured between 100 and 100,000, said Francis.
“What we saw last year was millions of cells per liter in all arms” – the upper, Oaks and lower arms, according to Francis.
She said algae moves throughout the water column, and when it floats to the surface and is pushed by the wind, it can't go back down the water column as it normally would do.
When it stays on the surface, the sun hits it and it dies, which she said results in the kind of mats and stench that were reported last year.
Water Resources reported that there are four nuisance blue-green algae families in Clear Lake, which – with its watershed, relatively shallow depth and warm climate – is an ideal environment for the algae growth.
Clear Lake is a eutrophic lake – meaning it's rich in the kind of nutrients that feed algae that can become a nuisance when they form mats and die, according to a Water Resources report.
Francis said there are things county residents can do to help mitigate algae growth and prevent it from becoming a nuisance.
That includes keeping algae alive and moving it through its natural daily cycle of rising and falling, and breaking up mats that begin to form by using boats and spray systems, said Francis, who compared it to pool maintenance.
She said the county has a volunteer network, along with pontoon boats purchased last year, to help prevent algae nuisance issues.
Water Resources' tips to keep algae problems from developing begin with being proactive, and not waiting for algae build up.
To dissipate algae slicks, agitate the water daily through spray systems, which can be installed along the shoreline and on docks and piers. Such a system requires a pump, pipe and nozzles that spray the algae with water to sink it. For plans and part lists, see the Water Resources Web site at www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Water_Resources.htm.
Officials also suggested that garden hoses can be used, but people are urged to avoid using treated drinking water if possible. Instead, use irrigation pumps drawing from the lake with screens protecting the water intake.
In places where algae has built up, boats and jet skis can be used to dissipate the algae into the water column, according to Water Resources.
For more information call the Lake County Water Resources Department, 707-263-2344.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The quake occurred at 5:57 p.m. at a depth of 43.7 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.
It was centered 12 miles west of Esparto, 25 miles southeast of Clearlake, 30 miles north of Napa and 30 miles west northwest of Davids, the survey reported.
The US Geological Survey received two shake reports on the quake – one from Santa Rosa and one from Fort Bragg.
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CLEARLAKE OAKS – County parks staff installed the new Clearlake Oaks town clock on Wednesday.
The $17,973 time piece was manufactured by Electric Time Co. of Medfield, Mass., as was the town clock installed June 29 in Upper Lake, as Lake County News has reported.
The new clock is located on the western side of Nylander Park on Highway 20, where visitors and residents alike can see it as they pass through town.
The Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association partnered with the county to raise the funds for the clock, according to county officials.
On June 24, Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association President Margaret Medeiros presented a check for $14,350 to County Administrative Officer and Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Kelly Cox, as Lake County News has reported.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Two major projects currently are taking place on Soda Bay Road, including a stimulus-funded overlay project and storm damage repair, according to Road Superintendent Steve Stangland.
The $800,000 overlay project started a few weeks ago and is set to wrap up next week, Stangland said.
Thanks to highly competitive bids, the county was able to extend the project – which originally was supposed to reach down Highway 281 to just past Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa – all the way to the Riviera West entrance, Stangland said.
Also under way is a storm damage repair project in the area of Ferndale Resort on Soda Bay Road. Stangland said that project should wrap up this week.
A slide necessitated the repairs. Stangland explained that a gravity wall made of huge blocks is being installed to repair the slide, along with associated earth work at a total cost of about $340,000.
Another project set to start this summer involves realignment of a portion of Soda Bay Road from Big Valley Road to Mission Rancheria Road, which the Big Valley Rancheria and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are paying for and for which Stangland didn't have a cost figure immediately available.
“We're still trying to get the storm damage projects out,” said Stangland.
He explained that a department list of storm damage projects, compiled in 2006, had 125 projects at a total cost of just over $12 million.
Stangland said the projects came from two declared disasters – a period of stormy weather in December 2005 and January 2006, and another period of extended rain this past February.
“That's when a lot of things started showing up,” he said.
The projects range in size from as little as $1,000 of repair all the way up to a $3.5 million project on Morgan Valley Road near Lower Lake, which requires fixing a 160-lineal-foot slipout on the road's downhill side, Stangland said.
That latter project will get done, but Stangland isn't sure of the time frame, as it's still in a final approval process with the federal government, which is providing funding.
“We're going to do all of them,” Stangland said of the 125 projects.
Despite some setbacks and deadline adjustments, the road division is down to about the last 20 projects on the list. “We hope to have them all done by the summer of 2011,” Stangland said.
A $900,000 storm damage repair project on Sulphur Bank Road in Clearlake Oaks was recently completed, and another $86,000 project on Scotts Valley Road is set to start soon, Stangland said.
Other storm-related projects on the drawing board include $100,000 in repairs on Highland Springs Road and $200,000 for culvert replacement and slide repairs on Elk Mountain Road toward Lake Pillsbury, he said.
This summer another stimulus project will take place, this time on Lakeshore Boulevard in north Lakeport, Stangland said. Contractor North Bay Construction will widen the road shoulders and install bike lanes.
So far, even with all the projects going, the road division is able to get the asphalt it needs, which wasn't the case two summers ago when there was a run on available asphalt in the area, he said.
“We're optimistic,” Stangland added.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The 15-year-old male was reported to have run away from Sutter Lakeside Hospital shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to Chief Deputy Probation Officer Dean Thornquist.
Thornquist said the teen, who was in juvenile hall for a probation violation, had attempted suicide on Tuesday night but was intercepted by juvenile hall staff.
He was then taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for medical clearance and was found to be in good physical health. The boy was then detained by Lake County Mental Health for a 72-hour treatment and evaluation before he ran away, Thornquist said.
Lake County Mental Health Director Kristy Kelly confirmed Wednesday, “We do have a report of someone from juvenile hall leaving the emergency room pending transportation for placement.”
She added, “My understanding is that law enforcement is trying to locate this person.”
Thornquist said mental health officials notified juvenile hall that the minor ran away from the hospital.
“We've sent out a pickup order,” which will notify local law enforcement to the teen's wanted status, Thornquist said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST – A team of law enforcement officials seized approximately 17,978 illegally grown marijuana plants in the Mendocino National Forest during a two-day operation, according to a Wednesday report.
The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Eradication Team (MET) operation took the plants from three separate grow sites, according to Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones.
Jones said MET, assisted by the state's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) and members of the US Forest Services Law Enforcement Branch, took 3,894 plants in the Twin Rocks area, 11,881 from the Heifer Ridge area and another 2,203 plants from the Freshwater Drainage.
Potential street value of these plants, if allowed to grow to maturity and processed for sales, would exceed $70 million, according to Jones.
All grows were consistent with those of large drug trafficking organizations, Jones said.
The grow site complexes were discovered during aerial reconnaissance flights. Jones said some grows were found three and a half miles from forest roads but near good water sources within the national forest.
Camps were found at the sites, however, Jones said the growers had fled the areas prior to entrance by law enforcement.
Clean up of the grows will be supervised by the US Forest Service, Jones said.
Jones urged anyone with information regarding these, or other marijuana plantations on public lands, to contact their local law enforcement agency.
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