Solar Bees may help sting Jordan fish kills

A program by the N.C. Division of Water Quality to help prevent algae blooms in Jordan Lake may also help prevent fish kills.

The NCDWQ installed 36 solar-powered water mixers — Solar Bees — at Jordan in July: 24 in Morgan Creek and 12 in the Haw River.

Anchored in place, the devices are 16 feet in diameter, sit 2 feet out of water, have an orange strobe light, three wings with orange pylons and a vertical, orange rod for visibility by boaters.

“The circulators aren’t using air, but they’re drawing water up from bottom and pumping it out the top,” said David Wainwright, an engineer for the agency. “The purpose is to help clean up nutrients in the lake. The legislature appropriated $1.4 million for this (project). It’s set to run for 24 months.”

Algae blooms are often contributing factors in fish kills because they draw dissolved oxygen out of the water, leaving affected areas with water that will not support marine life.

Jessica Baumann, a fisheries biologist for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission whose territory includes Jordan, said the project can only have good effects on water quality in the lake.

“I don’t know if they’ll help fisheries or not. It’s my understanding that wasn’t their purpose. It’s supposed to break up chlorophyll A and prevent algae blooms,” Baumann said. “I’m unsure how they may affect fish because they were put in two localized areas and Jordan’s a big lake. But the lake has a lot of mouths to feed, so we may see some (positive) effects.”