CONTROL METHODS TEST PROJECT - YEAR 2

By: Kristine Lebo, Water Quality Manager

The Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association Control Methods Test (CMT) project Year 2 is underway! The goal of Year 2 is to test three non-herbicide methods, referred to as Group B Methods – Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH), Bottom Barriers (BB), UV-C Spot Treatment – and their ability to sustain control of the reduced weed biovolume that was achieved in Year 1.

So, what does that mean for you and your boating season?

1. There will be no long-term boating restrictions within the Keys Lagoons

2. There will be divers working in the water only on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays

3. TKPOA will contact you if your property/dock is near a dive site before work is performed

The TKPOA has contracted with Hiuga Dive Company to implement two of the Group B methods. Hiuga will begin the BB installation starting in June and DASH will be conducted from July through Labor Day. BB will be removed from their sites September through

October. The final macrophyte survey, for efficacy, will be conducted once the BBs are removed. All dive work will be completed Monday through Wednesday only throughout the season due to permit and monitoring requirements. We are happy to say there will be no turbidity curtains installed and no impairment to boating and recreation on a long-term basis. Some individual docks and locations may have a day or two of restrictions due to dive work in their immediate area. TKPOA is working with Hiuga Diving on strategies to reduce blockages and create safe travel lanes around the diver's work area. Once spring surveys are conducted, a schedule will be drafted, and each homeowner will be given ample notice of when dive work will be conducted around their dock.

In addition to the TKPOA WQ Technicians, be prepared to see various contractors throughout the Keys waterways sampling, monitoring, and testing. UV-C treatments will be conducted by the same TRPA contractor as last year –Inventive Resources, Inc. If you have questions about who you see on the water and what they are doing, give the TKPOA WQ department a call for more information at

530-542-6444 x275 or email waterquality@tahoekeyspoa.org.

Harvesting season operations will start during the month of June based on plant growth. The schedule, as well as the harvesting zone map, will be sent with the weekly e-blast or posted for easy access by visiting keysweedsmangement.org. As a note, the CMT sites in general will not be harvested. However, dependent on the plant regrowth from Year 1 testing, harvesting may be allowed to clear sites that no longer meet the CMT testing criteria. We will adjust the schedule accordingly as the season progresses.

The best way to stay connected about this upcoming season and the CMT project is to keep up with the weekly TKPOA CMT e-blasts. This is our main way to inform each homeowner of harvesting and diving activities. If you haven’t yet signed up, please utilize your homeowner Connect account. For assistance, please email info@tahoekeyspoa.org or call 530-542-6444.