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Clean Up the Lake outlines underwater litter removal, finds thousands of pounds at Donner Lake
Summary
Clean Up the Lake described multi-year scuba cleanup work and data showing tens of thousands of pounds of submerged litter removed across Sierra lakes and more than 14,000 pounds recovered from Donner Lake.
Colin West, founder and CEO of Clean Up the Lake, summarized the nonprofit’s dive-based litter-removal work and data from Donner Lake and Lake Tahoe. West said the organization has removed over 82,000 pounds of submerged litter across its projects in about four-and-a-half years and that more than 14,000 pounds of that total came from Donner Lake.
West said Clean Up the Lake has developed a data-driven categorization system for submerged litter and that volunteers and staff have surveyed and cleaned more than 130 miles of subsurface shoreline across multiple Sierra lakes and one saltwater area. He said the group has worked in more than 18 lakes and engaged more than 3,000 youth in its programs.
On Donner Lake specifically, West described ongoing dives that cover depths of roughly 35 to 55 feet, where the team has recovered heavy items such as tires, cinder blocks and beer cans. He said the current Donner project has covered roughly three miles and recovered about 2,000 pounds of litter so far, and that earlier field seasons yielded wet weights of roughly 5,100 pounds (2020) and about 7,800 pounds (2022) in separate efforts.
West described operational adaptations made in Donner Lake: use of diver-propulsion vehicles (DPVs) and nitrox breathing mixes to increase coverage and bottom time, development of a fine-grain litter typology (more than 80 item types), and specialized surface recovery techniques such as rock ropes and lift bags. He also noted safety incidents can occur and described a training emphasis and surface support protocols.
The group’s item counts across recent data sets included thousands of metal items (often beer cans), hundreds of tires and many pieces of plastic and food packaging. West said the data help target “hot spots” at piers and sheltered east-side areas that collect wind-driven debris, and that the organization is pursuing outreach and infrastructure solutions to reduce future inputs.
Why it matters: submerged litter poses ecological and aesthetic problems and requires specialized removal techniques; Clean Up the Lake’s work documents the scope and supports targeted prevention, outreach and partner coordination.
