Memorandum
Date: July 22, 2025
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Anthony Arton, Health Services Director
Subject: Consideration of recommendation from Health Services Department regarding participation in the Clear Lake Cyanobacteria Task Force
Executive Summary:
Lake County Health Services (LCHS) has been facilitating a meeting between County agencies, water service providers, and local tribes to address the issue of Cyanobacteria in Clear Lake since prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, Cyanobacteria and the resultant Cyanotoxins were not well understood, particularly within the Clear Lake ecosystem.
Over the years, responsibility for these meetings has gone back and forth between LCHS and Lake County Water Resources. The group has met regularly, sometimes weekly, working closely with the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians EPA department to discuss lab testing results, sample collection protocols, and community implications. Much of the work originally facilitated through this group is now completed much more efficiently though outside agencies and Cyanobacteria risks and impacts are much better understood.
LCHS seeks clarification regarding the role of the department in Cyanobacteria testing and monitoring activities. LCHS asks that the Board consider the work being conducted externally and recommends limiting, but not ending, LCHS participation and resources to be utilized in this effort moving forward.
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Recommended Action: LCHS recommends limiting, but not ending, LCHS participation and resources utilized in the Clear Lake Cyanobacteria Task Force.