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08/04/2006: "Town Buys Solar Powered Circulators For Lake"

(Example of Solar Bee circulators -Solar Bee photo)

Trout Lake on San Juan Island has had a problem over the years with algae blooms -and other problems associated with a lack of oxygen in water- and this has resulted in some impacts on the quality of the water that is the drinking water source for the Town of Friday Harbor. At the Thursday Town Council meeting, the Council voted to purchase three floating solar powered circulators, at a cost of $45.000.00 each, to try and solve the problem.

The units are made by Solar Bee, and are unique in that they rely on sunlight to provide power to on-board batteries to power the units that float on the surface and circulate the lake water. The batteries can store up enough energy from six hours of sunlight to provide eighteen hours of run time. Town Councilman Howie Rosenfield asked if the units could receive adequate solar exposure, given our northern latitude, and was informed by the Town staff that there are units operating at capacity in Canada, and that the units can also generate a charge to the batteries even under a light cloud cover.

According to Solar Bee, the units can eliminate blue-green algae blooms by introducing oxygen into the water, and also are capable of helping to prevent the release of hydrogen sulfide and other problematic materials that can have a negative effect on water used as a source for drinking water.