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Our guest speaker on Friday, August 23rd was Leah Everett, Stormwater Coordinator for the City of Lake Stevens talking about the State of the Lake. Leah reviewed the background leading up to the current status of the lake. First there was the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972, followed by the United States EPA delegating the power to the states to regulate waters within their borders. Than, Washington State delegated the responsibilities to the Department of Ecology. The DOE issues permits to cities and counties called a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Phase 1 (or II) Permit otherwise known as the NPDES permit.
An overview of the City of Lake Stevens mentioned the founding of the city as a logging town that has grown into a thriving community that we see today. In the 1950's, an increase in algae blooms started to concern citizens around the lake. Lake ecology in 1955 started with a blue-green algae bloom occurring on the western shore of the lake. In 1957, the Lake Stevens Sewer District was formed as an effort to address water quality degradation in Lake Stevens. A sewer treatment plant was constructed in 1965 to treat the area near Frontier Village and continues with the expansion of services.
From the 1960's to 1980's algal bloom continues to happen despite the reduction in bacterial loading from septic systems. Phosphorous has life in freshwater environments but too much can be harmful. Phosphorous comes from outside the lake while sediment that migrates into the water during specific water conditions is referred to as internal loading. Lakes fall into three classifications: eultropication; happens naturally over millions of years; which can be accelerated by human activity.
The lake has layers like a cake based on the temperature. Two times a year the water "turns over" and mixes all of the water that has been layered. In 1994 a hypolimnetic aerator was installed in Lake Stevens to address the ongoing internal and external loading of phosphorus. In 2011 the aerator was determined to be ineffective due to malfunctions and lack of necessary iron in the sedmiment to bind phosphorus. The City now uses alum (aluminum sulfate) to bind phosphorus in the water column and sediment.
Now we have the issue of milfoil an invasive water plant brought in by boats with fragments of the plant which dumps the plant into the lake. The City maintains a permit with the Department of Ecology to treat milfoil and other invasive plants using herbicides that are safe for native plants and wildlife.
Currently, the lake water quality is considered GOOD with the color a light green and algal blooms are under control. There are on-going issues including development pressures that continue to strain the lake's ecosystem and alum treatment is a band-aid approach and long term solutions are needed but harder to achieve. The cityis pursuing projects that will help clean water as it leaves the lake.
Thank you Leah for keeping our club up-to-date on the status of the lake and it's water quality.