Our new Troop 88 presented the colors at last Friday's meeting.  Senior Patrol Leader Aurelia gave the club an update on what the Scouts have been doing since the club chartered the Troop on February 1, 2019.  They have been very busy and active having accomplished a lot in a short period of time. Congratulations and thanks for your Troop's contribution to the community and our Club.  

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.

Angie grew up in Lake Stevens and attended our public local schools. You might ask her what happened in her high school chemistry class a few years ago! For years, she worked as a lifeguard. After graduating from a technical college with a computer degree, Angie returned to life guarding at several locations in Snohomish County until the downturn in the economy hit in 2008. She joined the IT ranks and learned the EPIC software program and trained at the company facilities in Wisconsin. Her first assignment was in St. Louis which was finished at the end of last year and she will be starting a new assignment in Portland, Oregon in the near future. Learned about our Rotary Club from former member Derek Olson and his wife.

 

Chris grew up in Mill Creek and is a lifelong resident of Snohomish County. He and his wife moved to Lake Stevens three years ago. They have three grown children and one grandchild. He learned about Rotary from Jim Haugen when his company Convergint Technologies and 125 employees converged on the Lake Stevens Senior Center for general maintenance, painting the exterior of the building and doing  landscaping of the grounds. His position as Vice President of System Integration includes working with corporate and university clients such as Alaska Airlines and Western Washington University. Chris and his wife live on the lake.