MANTUA — Scientists are working to clear algal blooms from Mantua Reservoir. They're studying a new approach that they say is safe for fish and wildlife and could end up costing taxpayers nothing.

It involves a white product on the reservoir that floats and attaches to the algal blooms, oxidizing them, and causing them to give up and die. The work will hopefully serve as a pilot for many more projects like it across the country.

A day at the lake can be a bit less pleasant when the water is that pea-soup green.

"I ride around this lake every day almost, and I've seen it just every day get worse and worse," Michael Burnett said. "Yeah, I don't let my dogs in the water. Nope."

The algae and cyanobacteria in the water is, to say the least, more than an eyesore.

"I love my dogs. I ain't going to let them get killed, ha ha," Burnett said.

That's why scientists and workers with Blue Green Water Technologies are in Utah, seeing how they can help.

"The advantage of having it float is that it will follow the floating scum that people see," Dr. Jessica Frost said.

She said Blue Green Water Technologies developed an oxidizing solution that will eventually cause the blooms to die and sink to the bottom.

"When that oxidative stress is high, the algae cells don't like it, essentially, and they collapse," she explained.

They'll measure their success, in part, by seeing how much carbon falls to the lakebed below.

"Traditionally, to treat an algae bloom like this can be pretty expensive," said Mike Pelz, vice president over the U.S. office for Blue Green.

Pelz said the company is working toward an affordable solution.

"Algae blooms are getting worse, and governments are having a hard time coming up with money unless it gets absolutely catastrophic," Pelz said.

From 2020:

Utah-based water treatment company kills toxic algal bloom in Utah Lake

A Utah-based water treatment company is showing that it can significantly reduce toxic algal blooms in Utah Lake. The head of the company shared their promising results at Lindon Marina, and they will present their data from the pilot program to state scientists.

If the proof of concept works here, he said they can market the idea to companies that want to sponsor similar projects nationwide.

"Companies that want to be a part of the cleaning water and help fund this and scale it out to the rest of the world," he added.

Whether that idea works could all hinge on how things turn out in Mantua in the coming weeks and months.

Scientists from around the world will keep an eye on the outcome, in part from water samples, but also with the help of satellite imaging that can tell them what chemical changes are happening.

Frost said the results could last weeks, months, or even years. It's all a part of what they'll be watching for.

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