This was mirror-like Waverly Lake as seen from the dock on Thursday afternoon.
The surface of Albany’s Waverly Lake appeared vastly improved on Thursday, one day after a couple of weed and algae harvesting machines started churning through the water.
Under contract with the Albany Parks Department, Aquatic Harvesting LLC deployed two floating weed and algae-gulping machines, along with other equipment, and cleared most of the unsightly green growth from the lake.
Some scum remained in spots throughout the lake and at the southwestern corner.
I wasn’t there when the work was done. When I took a look Thursday afternoon, the algae skimmers — or scrapers — were anchored in the middle of the lake.
I asked Parks and Recreation Director Kim Lyddane for a status report on the project, which includes installation of aerators and a fountain.
“We are really excited about the work being done at Waverly,” she replied.”They started yesterday and am not sure how much longer they will be on-site for the harvesting. I plan on checking in with them to get an update tomorrow. The aeration and fountain will now go in sometime in October.”
Will the company come back in future years?
“At this time,” Lyddane wrote in an email, “we have contracted with them for the harvesting this year, aeration and fountain installation. It is possible we may work with them in a smaller capacity in future years to come back and help maintain, but we do not know that at this time. The work done this summer should be the major push. ”
I wondered exactly what kind of growth we’re dealing with on the lake. Lyddane passed along the opinion of Jay Sharpe, the city parks’ natural resource specialist:
“It is a filamentous algae most likely from the genus Cladophora. Drivers of excessive growth include high nutrient levels and high phosphorous levels. It’s very likely that Waverly Lake could be classified as eutrophic, which basically just means the environment is enriched with nutrients, which increases plant and algae growth.”
City spokesman Matt Harrington told me the plan is to install 12 aerators to keep future algae growth down, along with a fountain that, while contributing to aeration, is largely decorative
Aquatic Harvesting is much in demand because of algae blooms all over the place. When the crew is done at Waverly, they will go elsewhere — until they come back with the aerators and the fountain in the fall. (hh)
Sitting in the middle of the lake Thursday, two harvesting machines appeared to be done for the day.
There was still some cleanup to do in the southwestern corner of the lake
So, Hasso. In your opinion, it is just another summer day with the accompanying terribly excessive algae growth in the lake being no big deal, and not the result of conditions made worse by global warming…
Talk less, learn more. Hate to disappoint you but has nothing to do with so called global warming.
Thank you, Hasso for excellent reporting along with great photos on this clean up operation! Looking good!
Phew! Thank god that momentous problem is under control. Albany can now sleep peacefully, secure in the knowledge that the Green Slime has been tarred, feathered and run out of town on a eutrophic rail.
Does the contract with Aquatic Harvesting include wiping the bottom of the Waverly Duck?
You say algae harvesting, is the algae taken and used for another purpose?
I should have asked that. Will try to catch up.
Unfortunately if you follow the lake to South and North Shore Dr you’ll find where all the freshly harvested algae went, into the next lake downstream. Seems the city is good making the entrance to town look good while pushing the problem into a great neighborhood lake and leaving the problem to those who live on the lake to clean up. Irresponsible and lacking any forethought out of sight out of mind.
This doesn’t seem possible. Swan Lakes are upstream from Waverly Lake, not downstream. To get the Waverly stuff into Swan Lakes would require trucking them there and dumping them in. Surely that didn’t happen.