OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University (UVU) Associate Professor of Chemistry Kevin Shurtleff, Ph.D., and a team of students are working to address the harmful algal blooms (HABs) that plague Utah Lake with a patented floating filtration barge that cleans the water at the source of the worst algae blooms.
The 34-foot-long, 10-foot-wide watercraft weighs about 27,000 pounds and vacuums algae from Utah Lake. The barge pumps about 400 gallons of water per minute and filters it through a cellulose plate and frame filter, which removes algae and returns cleaner water to the lake. About 60% of the algae is removed in just one pass. This targeted approach helps slow the spread of harmful algae, keeping more of the lake safe for everyone while maintaining a beneficial level of algae for the ecosystem.
“We have been able to prevent HABs where we are spot cleaning. We try to keep the blooms down where people recreate: marinas, beaches, and parks,” Shurtleff said. “Unfortunately, when we aren’t able to get to an area for a while, we do start to see HAB warnings for that area. That’s exactly why expanding this effort matters — the more ground we can cover, the more of the lake we can keep safe for families, visitors, and wildlife.”
HABs occur when water conditions like warm temperatures, sunshine, and abundant nutrients foster rapid growth of cyanobacteria (algae). High concentrations of cyanobacteria block sunlight, preventing photosynthesis and killing the cyanobacteria. This releases high concentrations of toxins into the water, making it harmful to people and animals. Killing cyanobacteria may make the water look cleaner, but it actually makes the water more harmful.
UVU’s barge was first launched in 2022 and operates on the lake five days a week every summer from May to August, filtering almost 100,000 gallons of water a day. The team designed the barge after they researched seven techniques to remove microalgae and determined that a filter press with a cellulose filter aid is most effective.
While UVU owns the patent to the technology, it is open to licensing it to others. Project organizers aim to expand the fleet of the boats, better addressing HABs on Utah Lake and sending the barges to other water bodies across the state.
Every summer, the project requires about $40,000 to maintain equipment, pay operators, and address other overhead costs, and each barge costs over $260,000 to build. In 2026, the project was supported by the Utah Lake Authority, but that funding is not guaranteed in the future.
For more information about UVU’s Utah Lake initiatives, please visit https://www.uvu.edu/give/colleges-schools/college-of-science/cos-utah-lake.html
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