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DWR asks councils to fund a SolarBee to reduce winter kill and HAB risk at Matt Warner/Craigs area
Summary
DWR presented dissolved-oxygen monitoring and requested funding for an additional SolarBee mixing/ aeration unit to reduce winter fish-kill risk and harmful algal bloom problems observed in Matt Warner and nearby Diamond Mountain lakes; a 2022 SolarBee at Calder showed improved oxygen profiles during winter.
Brian Engelbert of the Northeastern Region presented a water-quality project to deploy a SolarBee mixing device at Matt Warner (or a Diamond Mountain lake) to mitigate winter oxygen collapse and summer harmful algal blooms (HABs) linked to high phosphorus loads.
Engelbert described the problem: shallow lakes with high nutrient loads can develop low dissolved oxygen under ice (winter kill) and HABs in summer. He presented monitoring data from three nearby lakes (Kraus, Matt Warner, Calder) and showed that Calder — where a SolarBee was installed in 2022 — retained higher dissolved-oxygen concentrations at depth through the winter compared with the other lakes.
Nut graf: The Division requested a SolarBee unit (purchase and installation budget ~ $64,000) and ongoing monitoring equipment to log dissolved-oxygen profiles. The ask was presented as a split request between Habitat Council and Blue Ribbon funds with in-kind DWR monitoring time; Engelbert said the Calder SolarBee demonstrates measurable effects on oxygen at multiple depths and that the device “buys time” for lakes during low-water years.
Council members asked about buoy vandalism and cost; Engelbert said buoys have been targeted but are replaceable and that the SolarBee purchase includes installation. Members discussed other mitigation and DWQ-led funding possibilities; the Division said it is also pursuing a SolarBee via the Department of Environmental Quality and considering contributions from partners.
Ending: Presenters framed the SolarBee as a targeted technological intervention to reduce winter-kill risk and HABs in nutrient-rich Diamond Mountain reservoirs and requested council consideration to fund the unit and monitoring equipment.
