- An algae-harvesting boat is helping reduce harmful algal blooms on Utah Lake.
- Developed by Utah Valley University, the boat uses a tank with a diatomaceous earth filter aid to clean the water.
- Plans include expanding the fleet, with the Utah Lake Authority raising funds to help in the effort.
OREM — Utah Lake officials said there has been a reduction in harmful algal blooms in the water thanks to an algae-harvesting boat.
The barge cleans up algae on the lake every day. The aluminum utility boat is 34 feet long and 10 feet wide with a flat bottom.
Kevin Shurtleff, associate professor of chemistry at Utah Valley University, said the boat has been years in the making.
"In 2016, Utah Lake had a pretty bad algae bloom over a number of areas," Shurtleff said. "I have done some research on algae for biofuels, and … the hardest part actually is separating the algae from the water. So I had a little bit of experience with that. So I thought after the 2016 bloom, I said, 'Maybe there's something we can do.'"
He said UVU funded his research on seven different methods of separating small algae cells from water. The system that's now in operation on the boat was found to be the most successful.
Shurtleff said the boat was built in between 2020 and 2021, and first launched in 2022. Since then, it's operated every summer from early May to mid-August.
This year, UVU junior Ulises Thornack and sophomore Henry Gonzales operate the boat every weekday for about five hours.
"Before this, I hardly ever came down to Utah Lake," Thornack said. "The idea in my head for the lake was that it was really gross and you shouldn't go down there because it was so disgusting."
He and Gonzalez take turns operating the barge. One steers the barge and looks for algae. The other monitors the equipment on board and takes water samples to see how much algae is processed.
It works like a vacuum for harmful algal blooms. There's a boom on the front of this boat that sucks up algae-contaminated water.
The water is pumped into a mixing tank on board, with a filter aid called diatomaceous earth. This combination is filtered, then clean water is poured back out into the lake.
"The algae gets trapped in the diatomaceous earth, but the diatomaceous earth has little holes in it that lets the water go through," Shurtleff said. "We've been taking that to Utah Valley University's compost pile because it's a natural soil additive. It's a natural fertilizer."
He said the numbers prove their work is successful. Thornack and Gonzalez track data every day they're on the water. Shurtleff said the results will be published this fall.
"About 50% to 60% of the algae is removed in one pass through the filter," Shurtleff said. "So we're not taking all the algae out. But it's really successful considering it's just one pass through the filter press."
This crew sticks to the shoreline, since that's where most of the public likes to go swimming or fishing.
Gonzalez admits it's frustrating trying to combat the recurring problem that is harmful algal blooms.
"It's like trying to change the weather with a fan," he said. "You know, it's kind of hard to do that. But I guess small changes make big differences."
Shurtleff's ultimate goal is to have a fleet of these barges out on the lake.
"This technology, which UVU patents, UVU owns the patents, we are open to licensing it to other people, but this could be scaled up to ship size, where we have giant filter presses which are currently made for wastewater treatment," he said.
The Utah Lake Authority's Executive Director Luke Peterson told KSL-TV they're looking to raise funds to get more barges in the future.
