How many thousands of public outcries by irate Lake County citizens for over 40 years does it take to make Lake County government responsible for effective action to stop the proven loss of millions of dollars per year in tourist and investment revenues due to cyanobacteria scums, smells and now toxins?

No matter how pretty the pictures in the “Official Lake County Visitor Guide,” produced by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, and with virtues described as warm sunny days with the beauty of the lake’s ancient treasures, it’s still a bit difficult to overcome the experience of tourists who want their money back from smelling and seeing Clear Lake’s renowned ancient treasure, the famous algae scum.

And let’s not leave out the disgust of residents, particularly the rim landers, who may pack up for the duration of the smell, leaving the rest to enjoy the lack of enjoyable swimming, fishing and boating as the special effects of this ancient scummy treasure, year after year.

While Carolyn Ruttan, invasive species program coordinator for the Lake County Water Resources Department, has publicly stated she receives “10 calls a day” concerning the noxious algae from outraged citizens, the calls have been ringing off the hook for at least 40 years, made to a county government that seems incapable of acting responsibility regarding the problem.

At times, through the years, algae scums have covered the lake by tens of acres one meter thick, so thick that small boats could not navigate through.

Again, how many smelly years does it take to have a responsible government that can act effectively upon this problem?

The waste of our money in the feeble attempt to use an air boat to break up algae scum does not, has not and cannot do the job. It only makes the lake more turbid, releasing even more toxic material into the water.

While obviously the problem requires a much more comprehensive approach, the costly air boat solution represents the kind failed government mentality that continues.

One solution would be to establish a seasonal task force that suction-skims the algae from the lake’s contaminated surface around relevant tourist areas, removing it from the lake.

But should a Clear Lake citizenry continue to accept a quality of government that manages to ignore such known, long-standing economic and material damage?

While the Lake County Chamber of Commerce extols the beauty of Clear Lake, its government, in a paradoxical and perverse denial of the algae (cyanobacteria) problem, maintains an ineffective and antiquated water management; a condition that has and is costing millions of lost revenue per year.

This cost in damage to Lake County by government denial is far in excess of the cost of remedial action that could simply remove the surface algae out of the lake on a seasonal basis (but which of course is not meant to be a the long-term solution).

Maurice Taylor lives in Clearlake, Calif.