SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - A plan by City Water, Light and Power to install lake circulators is getting pushback from boaters in Springfield.

"Its going to be a complication on the lake. There will be 13 of these obstructions - it's going to be dangerous for boaters," Micah King, president of the Springfield Lake Association, told WAND News.

King said boaters feel the proposed lake circulators could be hazardous.

"They'll be scattered all over this end of the lake. It'll just be very difficult for boaters. I think it will be more of a hazard than anything," King explained.

But the city's water division manager said CWLP had to take action after Springfield's water had a dirt taste for weeks last fall.

"We've attributed that to the stagnation at the north end of the lake. Basically because we shut down the power plants there," Todd LaFountain, the water division manger for Springfield, explained.

LaFountain said when Dallman closed, the lake water wasn't being churned up. This caused blue green algae to grow, making the water smell and taste bad.

"They don't like moving water, they like stagnation. So we keep moving the water, then the tendency for those blooms - the intensity and duration - tends to be much less," LaFountain said to WAND News.

This is where Solarbees comes in. The devices sit in the water, like a navigational bouy, and would move 200 million gallons of water each day.

"They have a proven track record of improving lake health. It doesn't guarantee that you'll never have an algae-related taste and odor issue. But it's certainly helped in 450 other applications," LaFountain added.

But boaters said in a packed meeting Wednesday night they want to see alternative solutions that do not take up space on Lake Springfield.

"That part of the lake is done. I don't know how you would even get to the clubs and get back," one boater said during a public comment period.

The Solarbees could cost Springfield about $530,000 and would be paid for with American Rescue Plan funds from the federal government. The devices have solar panels and do not require any other cost except maintenance.