State of the Lake

Lake Reports

LAKE MANAGERS REPORT- SEPTEMBER, 2022

  1. The lake water temperature is currently 84 degrees which is not ideal for maintaining optimum lake clarity. we are dealing with Planktonic algae due to excessive heat and high-water temperatures. Clean Lakes applied an application of Copper Sulphate Algaecide on 08-31-22 to help combat this Algae. This should be the last treatment of the year. As the days get shorter and the temperatures decrease, lake clarity will improve. Lake clarity has improved over the last few days due to this treatment.
  1. Jason K continues to work on updating our Lake operations manual.
  1. We will be removing the debris buildup around the vendor docks and toward the end of dock 100-200. After looking at these areas closer, I determined that we can do this work in-house. The buildup is a result of outflow from the Firehouse drain into the lake.
  1. Approval was granted for our EAP (Emergency Action Plan). This is great news. Tim will train me on the process moving forward.
  1. We continue to have our siphon hoses on to release water downstream at 60 gallons per minute, not our full 112.5 which ended September 1
  1. Wells 1 and 2 remain on. Well number one has approx 125ft of water available as of now. That is very close to the same number this time last year. Well number two has approx 203ft of water available, this time last year well number two had approx the same amount of water available. The lake level is 7 inches down which is more than twice the amount for the same time period last year. This is due to hotter temperatures in July and August which has increased the evaporation rate. Wells one and two were turned on, on June 20 around 20 days later than last year which shows that the run off from the rains at the end of December were still seeping in to the lake and water flowing over the dam until recently. Wells 1 and 2 put out around 800 gallons of water per minute which is over a million gallons in a 24-hour period.
  1. The parking lot at the WLMA office has been Asphalted. This is a nice improvement.
  1. Dock 200 and dock 500 require some anchoring repair to be done, some of the support poles keeping the dock from moving have disappeared into lake bottom. We will use chain and concrete weights to resolve this problem.
  1. I met with So Cal Edison regarding Well #3. They have changed personal AGAIN on this project. They have promised to push this through for us, so it is looking like about a 4 month wait time with them to get the electrical route approved. By the beginning of next summer, we will have this well in use.
  1. Our below the dam cleaning crew have been working on clearing weeds and dry algae from the dam walls.
  1. Lake Elsinore and Big bear lake have recently had major Algae blooms. It is not just Westlake Lake that this happens to in the summer months. It happens everywhere.
  1. We have managed to locate a sewer line close to our maintenance shed that we should be able to tap into to provide a bathroom in the shed for the lake maintenance crew. I have a contractor working on this proposal again.
  1. Our new WLMA website is up and running. It is a nicely laid out site. I will post the Lake Manager reports along with any other updates WLMA related.
  1. Steve and I continue to spend many hours again this month below the dam researching the entire drainage system of the dam. We will do a presentation this month to the 33 so everyone has a better understanding of their function and integrity. We will putting a camera down the drains on Thursday.
  1. We are looking into adding AquaThruster aerators at the ends of our problem fingers. This would consist of two units positioned opposite each other and mounted to the homeowner’s dock. This would provide up to 100ft of water movement per unit in a 180-degree motion. These will provide much needed water circulation in these areas. I have a quote for 24 units for 60k and the monthly run cost would be 60-70 per month during the summer months.
  1. Jan Demaio is working up a quote to replace signage on the Marina gates and also around the perimeters of the lake which have the Quagga Mussel signs.
  1. Debbie Denton and Jan Demaio met with Treescapes to get a tree trimming/maintenance plan together for our trees at the office and also the Triunfo and Westlake Bay lots. This will provide much better consistency on the health of the trees.
  1. Fob system at the marina gates. We should go with the Vant system at 28.5K. Had another bid come in for more than that and not as good.
  1. We will be adding a camera on the yacht club to view the restaurant docks and boardwalk and also from the maintenance shed to view that area.
  1. I have been inputting the Marina waiting list on to excell. This will be much easier to understand and follow.
  1. Bodie has given me quote on an addition to the office docks. The proposed dock would be 220 feet long with a separate gangway and a 20 ft gap between the existing dock to allow boats to have acces to the back side of the original dock. There would be a concrete stairway going down the slope to the gangway. This dock would look exactly the same as the dock we currently have and would allow 19 elctracrafts and 8 fishing boats on the back side. The project cost will be around $215,000 and revenue will be around $115,000 per year. So a little under 2 years it will turn a profit

 

I would like to add a vertex diffusing aeration system in the area from the dam to the end of the commercial district. This would run from the office dock with tubing running along the lake bottom connecting to the aeraters. It would be the same as the unit we have by the dam but 10 of them. This will be extremely beneficial in helping oxygen numbers increase in the summer. Sherwood has these units also.