Clearlake Algea Harvesting Demonstration Project

The City of Clearlake is undertaking a temporary algae harvesting demonstration project funded by the California Natural Resources Agency to assess the efficacy of Hydronucleation Flotation Technology in reducing algal and cyanobacterial biomass, nutrients, and cyanotoxins from Clear Lake. The project involves withdrawing water from the lake, separating target contaminants through a non-invasive process that avoids any ground disturbance or impact on the lakebed, and returning clarified water to a semi-enclosed treatment zone bounded by turbidity curtains to facilitate controlled performance evaluation. Monitoring will track system operations, influent and effluent water quality, and overall lake conditions throughout the process. The operation is scheduled to last approximately three weeks and is projected to treat up to 21 million gallons of water, producing around 22,000 gallons of algae slurry. The goal is to generate actionable data to inform future harmful algal bloom management strategies for Clear Lake and other California water bodies. Point of contact for the project includes Mark Roberts, Senior Planner, and Dan Levy, Co-Founder and President of BlueCycle, with performance taking place in Clearlake, California.