Raleigh News & Observer Logo

SolarBees go rogue on Jordan Lake | Raleigh News & Observer

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • Support
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Sponsorships
    • Stay connected
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • Social Media Directory
    • N&O Store
    • Buy Photos
    • Databases
    • Archives
    • Newsletters

    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Health
    • Local
    • North Carolina
    • Nation/World
    • Science
    • Thumbs Up
    • Traffic
    • Weather
    • Weird News
    • All News
    • Counties
    • Durham County
    • Johnston County
    • Orange County
    • Wake County
    • All Sports
    • Baseball
    • Canes
    • College
    • Columns & Blogs
    • High Schools
    • NASCAR & Auto Racing
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • NHL
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Panthers
    • Soccer
    • Schools
    • Duke
    • East Carolina
    • NC State
    • North Carolina
    • All Politics
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • State Politics
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • PolitiFact
    • PolitiFact NC
    • Rob Christensen
    • Under the Dome
    • All Business
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Health Care
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Shop Talk
    • Stocks Center
    • Technology
    • All Living
    • Video Now
    • Best-Kept Secrets
    • Blogs
    • Celebrations
    • Comics
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fitness
    • Food
    • Games and Puzzles
    • Home and Garden
    • Horoscopes
    • Mouthful
    • Past Times
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Video Now
    • Arts News
    • ArtsNow
    • Books
    • Contests
    • Dining
    • Entertainment
    • Games
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Television
    • On the Beat
    • Happiness is a Warm TV
    • All Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Dwane Powell
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Letters
    • Opinion Shop Blog
    • Other Views
    • Submit a Letter
  • Obituaries

    • Advertise with us
    • Place Ad
    • Apartments
    • Cars
    • Homes
    • Jobs
    • Legals
    • Obits/In Memoriams
    • Weddings
    • Today's Daily Deal
    • Special Sections
    • Today's Circulars
    • Rewards
    • Photo Store
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Legals

Local

SolarBees go rogue on Jordan Lake

By Andrew Kenney - akenney@newsobserver.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 09, 2015 04:10 PM

Winter storms have interfered with a million-dollar experiment on Jordan Lake, dragging several floating SolarBee pumps from their anchor points and bringing one into open water beyond the project zone.

The General Assembly had the fleet of 36 units placed in the region’s largest reservoir in July, hoping that they might stir away the algae that has long plagued it. Critics of the experimental project called the project a superficial replacement for the Jordan Lake Rules, a regulatory program that would have tried to limit the nutrient pollution that feeds algae overgrowth.

Opponents also asked at the time whether the circulators would be a danger to boaters.

In all, eight units drifted astray between November and January, likely due to high winds and high water, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

One of the 850-pound units lifted from the lake bed and went rogue, floating down the Haw River arm and out into the huge open expanse of the main lake. Others traveled from a few hundred feet to a quarter mile.

Ginger Travis was out in her wooden kayak about two weeks ago, checking on an eagle nest, when she spotted an odd angular mass in the Morgan Creek inlet.

“It was two SolarBees lashed together end-to-end with a very stout rope,” she said. As she got closer, she noticed that the underwater drives weren’t mixing the water, which is how the units are supposed to work their cyano-bacteria-killing magic.

“They’ve been tied together, and they’re not doing anything,” she said.

The units she spotted had remained inside the project’s boundaries, which include the Morgan Creek and Haw River arms. In the cases of those seven smaller moves, it seems that the units lost their grip in the muck, dragging their concrete anchors along with them. One of these units moved a quarter-mile in the Haw River inlet, according to DENR.

“That just happens when there are high waters and storms – there was no damage to any units,” said Ken Hudnell, a vice president and scientist for the manufacturer, Medora Corp., who was crucial in pushing the project through the legislature last summer.

In the most serious case of the nomadic water vacuums, however, a mechanical failure set a unit loose for an unusually long journey. A swivel mechanism, meant to let the unit orbit its anchor, instead jammed up, tangling the anchor chain and eventually ripping the mooring out of the lake bed, according to Emil Amheluk, customer service manager for Medora.

They received early reports that the SolarBee was drifting slowly in the inlet, but it’s unclear how long the unit floated on the lake’s open waters, where motorboats speed to and fro in warmer months.

“How long it was out there, I don’t know,” Amheluk said.

Hudnell says the first reports of the unit in the open water came in December. But Sarah Young, a spokeswoman for DENR, said the state learned of the escape on Jan. 17 and “immediately” had it towed out of navigation paths. Other units were seen drifting as early as November, according to Young.

The errant stirrers remained out of place for several weeks more, though. A Medora crew came in the last week of January to tow the units back to their positions and restart them.

In the meantime, the most successful escapee seemed to attract fish and clusters of fishing boats alike, Hudnell said.

The malfunctioning units needed to be adjusted to “best compensate for water depth, changing flow conditions, and high wind conditions ...” Young wrote. The cost of the fix was covered under the state’s warranty with Medora.

Molly Diggins, state director for the Sierra Club, said the incidents reinforced long-running criticism of the program.

“Now it also plays into the safety question – whether there won’t be future SolarBees that go missing,” she said.

Hudnell, the Medora vice president, said the rogue SolarBees were just part of the process.

“It potentially could be (a concern),” he said. “But we think we solved the problem now.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which reviewed various concerns about the project and stamped its approval last year, didn’t immediately respond to questions about the loose units.

The temporary loss of a quarter of the pilot program units won’t prolong the experiment or otherwise limit DENR and Medora’s ability to draw conclusions on its effectiveness, Hudnell said. Winter months see relatively few dips in water quality, he said.

“It’s not a period of the year when you really have a need for much data,” he said. The data so far does seem promising, he said.

Ginger Travis, the kayaker, is still waiting on progress.

“There are times when it hasn’t rained for a long time, that the water clears enough that … you can see the bottom, 3 feet below. But that’s not very often,” she said.

“After it rains, up in the ends of the lake, the waters are almost opaque.”

  Comments  

Videos

How does the US bail system work?

Bail-reform advocates dispute fairness of cash bail for low-level offenders

View More Video

Trending Stories

John Harris warned his father about legal red flags involving Bladen operative

February 20, 2019 02:13 PM

Three observations from No. 8 North Carolina’s 88-72 road win over No. 1 Duke

February 21, 2019 02:18 AM

Transgender woman has asked to be moved from a men’s prison. So far, NC has said no.

February 20, 2019 01:42 PM

Zion Williamson injured as No. 1 Duke falls to No. 8 UNC

February 20, 2019 11:11 PM

Zion Williamson injured during Duke-UNC game after foot blows through shoe

February 20, 2019 09:53 PM

Read Next

What in the world happened to Zion Williamson’s shoe? A sneaker expert weighs in.

Sports

What in the world happened to Zion Williamson’s shoe? A sneaker expert weighs in.

By Josh Shaffer and

Steve Wiseman

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 21, 2019 05:15 PM

Zion Williamson’s footwear breakdown has focused attention on the technical craft of sneaker design — specifically, what mishaps might have sent the Duke star’s foot ripping through his size 11 Nike?

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LOCAL

Pay $500 on a panhandling charge or sit in jail for five days. Should NC find a better way?

North Carolina

Pay $500 on a panhandling charge or sit in jail for five days. Should NC find a better way?

February 21, 2019 08:28 AM
ICE raids put undocumented students in ‘fear,’ activists say. They’re asking Wake schools for help.

Politics & Government

ICE raids put undocumented students in ‘fear,’ activists say. They’re asking Wake schools for help.

February 21, 2019 04:36 PM
An Uber passenger jumps into the front seat — and tries to take the car, NC cops say

North Carolina

An Uber passenger jumps into the front seat — and tries to take the car, NC cops say

February 21, 2019 04:16 PM
2017 murder charged dropped against man accused in birthday party shooting

Local

2017 murder charged dropped against man accused in birthday party shooting

February 21, 2019 03:33 PM
Here’s what a $95 million affordable housing bond would pay for in Durham

Local

Here’s what a $95 million affordable housing bond would pay for in Durham

February 21, 2019 02:24 PM
This tiny T. rex relative — called the ‘harbinger of doom’ — was just discovered by an NC team

Local

This tiny T. rex relative — called the ‘harbinger of doom’ — was just discovered by an NC team

February 21, 2019 01:28 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Raleigh News & Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Triangletoday.com
  • Legal Notices
Advertising
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Our Ads
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • N&O Store
  • N&O Photos
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Report News
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use


Back to Story