Lake Elsinore & San Jacinto Watersheds Authority (LESJWA) announced that Canyon Lake will receive an alum treatment from September 29 through October 2.
The treatment will be applied to the main body of the lake, the East Bay, and the area north of the causeway. The lake will remain open during the treatment application. Recreational users will experience little disruption during this time.
Application will be pending, following receipt of the pre-alum dosing water quality monitoring results to confirm that weather and in-lake conditions are favorable for an alum application.
Canyon Lake water mostly comes from stormwater runoff from the upper watershed each year and has high levels of nutrients that hurt water quality and threaten aquatic life. Alum binds with phosphorus in the lake water, drops the nutrient to the lake bottom, and thereby reduces algae growth in the lake.
In order to comply with water quality regulations enforced by the state, through the local Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Lake Elsinore & Canyon Lake Nutrient Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Task Force, a coalition of cities, the county, and several other organizations led by LESJWA, provides funding to continue alum water treatments in Canyon Lake.
The TMDL Task Force evaluated several options during the CEQA process and determined that alum application provides the best option as a step to effectively treat the entire lake in a timely manner with minimal impact on Canyon Lake residents.
The alum schedule is as follows:
- Monday, September 29, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.: main body
- Tuesday, September 30, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.: main Body
- Wednesday, October 1, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.: main boat ramp to the west end of the East Bay
- Thursday, October 2, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.: East Bay/north of the causeway
- Friday, October 3, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m: clean up
The schedule is subject to change. For daily operational updates, visit http://www.canyonlakealum.wordpress.com.
