Atascadero Lake’s added blue substance under investigation
Atascadero Lake. Photo courtesy of Lynette Klooster Tibbetts.
Unsanctioned substance in lake violates City municipal code
–A recent incident at the Atascadero Lake, where it is believed an unsanctioned blue pond dye product was added, is currently being investigated by the City of Atascadero, California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. The product is believed to have been discharged into the waters of Atascadero Lake, violating the City of Atascadero Municipal Code, which states it is unlawful to discharge into the waters of the lake or any stream, any contaminating or polluting substance of any kind whatsoever.
City of Atascadero Public Works Director Nick DeBar said the City had become aware of the incident on Monday, Apr. 18 and was still investigating. “We have informed the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Regional Water Quality Control Board who are further looking into the incident and we are working with them to resolve the issue,” he said. “The introduction of a substance to the Atascadero Lake was not a City sanctioned activity,” he said. “Based on the information we have received it appears to be a non-toxic pond dye added to the lake, we are unsure at this stage whether it was to stop algae growth or for appearance sake.”
DeBar said that the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Regional Water Quality Control Board were a higher authority and it was hard to say what would happen should the person responsible be found. “The act did violate some municipal codes, whether it is a misdemeanor or a criminal act is hard to say…The city owns the lake and if clean up needs to be done the city is left responsible.”
Friends of Atascadero Lake President Paul Murphy said he couldn’t confirm whether a pond dye product had been added to the lake. “I am aware that some people said they saw a change to the color of the lake and it is believed it could have been a material used to suppress the spread of algae,” he said. “If this was done it has now dissipated to a great extent and it has not changed the look of the lake significantly.”
Murphy said the Friends were aware authorities are looking to find the people or person responsible with the potential for prosecution. He said that the Friends had always played by the rules and have never undertaken to dye the lake. “There are a lot of well-meaning people who live by the lake,” he said. “They know the laws of physics but not the laws of California…We are trying to do what is right but it is sometimes hard to work with government legislation.” Murphy said that the lake was accessible to all, so it would be hard for authorities to determine who was responsible. “We have had a problem with people dumping animals, such as ducks, geese and even cats at the lake,” he said. “We rounded up all the geese last fall when the lake was dry and relocated them.”
The Atascadero Lake has had long-term issues with sediment build up which has made the lake shallower, warmer and nitrogen rich, which has resulted in severely degraded water quality, along with periodic fish die-offs caused by algae blooms which consume oxygen. In October 2014 a sediment removal project was undertaken in the lake to remove decades of build up, this was a rare opportunity during the drought when the lake was dry to increase the overall health.
