CHEMICAL TO ELIMINATE ALGAE IN LAKE RESERVOIR.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer Castaic Lake's main reservoir will be treated with a chemical next week to kill algae algae (ăl`jē) [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plant kingdom, the thallophytes (plants that that is growing rampant in the summerlike heat and threatening to add an unpleasant taste and odor to Ventura County's water supply. While the algae does not harm drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. , it can create a musty taste and smell, John Kemp John Kemp (c. 1380 – March 22 1454) was an English cardinal, archbishop of Canterbury, and chancellor. Biography He was son of Thomas Kemp, a gentleman of Ollantigh, in the parish of Wye near Ashford, Kent. , a water quality supervisor for the state Department of Water Resources, said Thursday. The DWR DWR Design Within Reach DWR Department of Water Resources DWR Direct Web Remoting (Easy Ajax for Java) DWR Durable Water Repellency DWR Delayed Word Recall (medical testing) DWR Driving While Revoked and the Metropolitan Water District suggested the treatment. A helicopter will be contracted to drop 15,000 pounds of copper sulfate copper sulfate, common name for the blue crystalline heptahydrate of cupric sulfate, in which copper has valence +2. It may also refer to cuprous sulfate (Cu2SO4), in which copper has valence +1. pellets into the reservoir Thursday. Don Kendall, general manager of the Calleguas Municipal Water District, which provides water to 75 percent of Ventura County (including Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , Moorpark and Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. ), said residents should not worry. ``Everything is fine,'' Kendall said. ``The water that's being delivered to Ventura County is being drawn from a much lower depth and the algae they're talking about is up at the surface.'' Kemp said the plant is fast growing and treatment is routine. Castaic was treated similarly in June 1995 after complaints from customers of the Castaic Lake Water Agency of an ``earthy'' taste and smell to tap water. ``It's a concern to us, but it's being monitored,'' Kemp said. The state Department of Fish and Game and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation will monitor the treatment to check its effects on plants and fish and to ensure the water is safe for boaters and others who use the lake for recreation. The algae has turned the surface water of the reservoir a greenish brown, but treated drinking water remains clear, Kemp said. Copper sulfate dissolves and does not affect drinking water, he said. Dwayne Maxwell, a senior biologist with the Fish and Game Department, said copper sulfate can be toxic to fish, particularly the eggs and the younger fish. The chemical will not harm people who eat fish from a treated lake, Maxwell said. ``There is no concern to people fishing,'' he said. ``Copper is one of those metals that builds down in the food chain, not like mercury, which works the opposite way. It'll likely dissolve or end up at the bottom of the lake in sediments.'' |
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