Innovative bubble curtain in place at Elk Point Marina to protect against aquatic weeds southtahoenow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from southtahoenow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Laney Griffo/ Tahoe Daily Tribune
STATELINE, Nev. At 10:30 a.m. on a perfect Friday morning at Tahoe, divers waded into the lake to start an historic clean-up effort.
On Friday, May 14, Colin West, founder of Clean Up the Lake briefed crews before they started their dive into the lake’s 50-degree water from the shore of Edgewood Tahoe.
The effort to circumvent the lake’s 72-mile shoreline, cleaning up trash along the way, was delayed last summer due to COVID-19.
“We made it through the pandemic and we survived,” West said to the crews.
Three kayaks, two jet skies and three boats accompanied the nine divers.
ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. - A new, innovative bubble curtain has been installed across the Elk Point Marina entrance to lessen the possibility of another weed infestation.
Installed earlier this month, the bubble curtain has perforated air hose lines on the bottom of the channel that create walls of bubbles that help slow plant fragments from entering the treated area. Unlike the bubble curtains in the channels of the Tahoe Keys, this bubble curtain works in reverse, to keep plant fragments out, rather than in.
Charles Jennings, the current vice president of the Elk Point Country Club Homeowners Association, noticed thick green and brown plants dominating the bottom of the marina when he moved to the area four years ago. The plants were knocked back last fall but had the possibility of returning, so the process of the installation of a bubble curtain was initiated.
Sierra Sun
Matt Levitt, Tahoe Blue Vodka founder and CEO, donated $100,000 to help finance Clean Up The Lake’s 2021 72-mile Lake Tahoe cleanup. Tahoe Fund is raising funds to match the $100,000 donation.
Clean Up The Lake
Typical dive days involve a group of roughly 10 to 12 people, including volunteers on kayaks, safety monitors, a jet ski, and a couple of boats. Larger cleanup days will see the group double in size. Diving will take place at depths of up to 25 feet.
Clean Up The Lake
“It’s really thrilling and exciting to get this going,” said West. “The team of people that have been with me has been truly amazing.”
Nonprofit Ready to Dive Into Massive Underwater Cleanup of Lake Tahoe Brendan Weber
A scuba diver collects trash found in Lake Tahoe.
The nonprofit organization is embarking on a colossal Lake Tahoe cleanup effort, aiming to pull out plastic bottles, tires, fishing equipment and other pieces of trash they find in the water along the alpine lake s entire 72-mile-long shoreline. It s believed to be the largest ever underwater cleanup project at the treasured lake. I want to do something that makes a difference, said Colin West, Clean Up the Lake s founder and executive director.
That mission begins Friday in the Edgewood area, which is located next to South Lake Tahoe on the other side of the California-Nevada border. From there, Clean Up the Lake s growing team of staff and volunteers will move counterclockwise along the shoreline, scooping up trash from the water s edge to depths up to 25 feet.