Water filling stations set up for Clear Lake households whose tap water is at risk due to toxic algae

Lake County Public Health officials, working with two local water companies, have established a pair of water filling stations for about 280 households whose own supplies are at risk because of toxic blue green algae in Clear Lake.

The alternate water sources — one in Clearlake and one in Kelseyville — were put into operation at noon Saturday, allowing affected residents access to 25 gallons a week for basic household needs like drinking and cooking, officials said.

The water is being supplied by the Mt. Konocti Mutual Water Company and the Golden State Water Company, officials said. Both “stepped up” when it became clear a limited number of shoreline residents with private intake systems would be unable to filter out the heavy concentrations of dangerous cyanotoxin that have accumulated in the eastern arms of the lake due to persistent warm temperatures and low water levels.

The State Water Resources Control Board also collaborated on the solution, local officials said.

Public systems have more robust treatment systems than household or private ones, as well as daily testing to ensure their water meets state drinking water standards.

But the heavy load of algae and toxins in the lake at present has been shown to be too much for most private systems to handle. During a recent round of testing, 90% of tap water samples checked showed cyanotoxins above state standards, health officials said.

They noted that neither boiling water nor adding chemicals removes the toxins.

Those eligible to obtain water from the filling stations should bring their own clean containers to 10580 Lake Shore Drive in Clearlake, if they are from the area on the Clearlake Oaks arm.

Residents from the lower arm area should come to 4980 Hawaina Way in Kelseyville to obtain potable water.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.