The lake lowering process has started. Looks like it may be a good weekend weather wise and if you take your boat out for the winter, this weekend may be a great time to do so. We will more than likely be at our low level within a few weeks. 

2019 Annual Lake Steilacoom Improvement Club Meeting

The annual meeting will take place on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 6:00 PM in the City of Lakewood Council Chambers. The address is:

6000 Main St SW
Lakewood, WA  98499

We will be starting promptly and the agenda items will be –

• Approval of the 2018 meeting minutes
• Lake quality report
• Proposed 2020 treatments
• Treasurers report
• 2020 recommended assessment
• Election of directors
• General comments

Hope to see you all there. 

The summer weather has been great for  all of us to enjoy the lake. Nice warm weather, clear warm waters, BBQ’s and fun times; what lake living is all about.

Of course there is a curse that comes with warmer summers. No, not your in-laws hanging around too long, rather maintaining great water quality. The lake has been treated for the early weed control, performed in June, as well as algae treatments in July and August. The latest testing has shown an increase in algae counts plus a decrease in the water depth clarity. Given those indicators, we are on the cusp of a major algae bloom. The approved budget allows for a third treatment and we will be posting this weekend for a treatment on Monday. Please make sure you irrigation systems are turned off if you draw lake water for your yard.

Another concern that has been expressed by many of you, is the level of the lake. All of the boards are in the dam, however, the fish ladder is partially open to create enough flow for the salmon to continue their upstream migration. The heat and lack of rainfall has severely impacted us, not only through evaporation but Clover Creek has stopped running, thus a lower than normal lake level.

Your water albeit a tad low, should be clean and clear for the remainder of our summer. Enjoy.

4TH OF JULY BOAT PARADE !!!!!

Once again its time for our bigger, better and “badder” each year, 4th of July boat parade.  Dig out your decorations, horses, eagles, Uncle Sam’s, pirate treasure chest or decorated dog, and join us if you can, for the parade of boats! YES you can do- SeaDoo’s, kayaks, RC boats, or what ever else you have that can move through the water. We will start at the south side of the bridge. Be there at  10:00 AM for a 10:15 departure.

For those that want to watch, please come out and wave the boaters on. The parade will leave the bridge area heading south and onwards around the lake. The whole parade tour will take between 45 minutes to an hour to circumnavigate the lake, so time your locale accordingly. If you do participate, lets keep it close and tight so our fans don’t get bored!

Let us know if you would be interested in a helping put together a progressive lake party, seeking individuals who would be willing to coordinate this event or be one of the hosts. Date/Time to be determined.

This Monday the 17th of June the folks from Northwest Aquatic Eco-Systems will be treating the lake with Daquat, the weed killer we have utilized for the past few decades. The intent is to eradicate the weed growth in its early stages to help control the algae growth in the summer months.

If you use lake water for irrigation purposes, please make sure your systems are turned off for 48 hours after the treatment. Diaquat is a plant poison and will harm your lawns and plants.

While the MSDS for this product does not reflect a swimming restriction, you will see a swimming restriction on the postings that will be placed on your docks on Sunday the 16th.

This treatment will assist us in having a clean lake condition this summer. Have a fun and enjoyable summer.

Certain areas of the lake have shown a significant amount of wind-rowing of algae, leaving a bright green film on the surface. NW Aquatics was out on the lake this morning (10/23/2018) and took multiple samples and then tested them for toxicity. As it turns out, the samples turned out to be the Anabaena algae, which is a form of toxic algae and thrives in a colder water environment. The good news is the samples came in at 0.4 parts per billion, well under the 1.0 parts per billion allowable under the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department’s for toxicity. Unfortunately, as this algae will continue to thrive under the current weather conditions and soon exceed the toxicity threshold.

Your board has determined it was advisable to authorize another treatment of the lake with Hydrothol, and has done so. This is a budgeted expense for this current budget cycle. The posting will take place tomorrow, Wednesday (10/24), and treatment on Thursday/Friday (10/25 or 26). Please keep your pets out of the water until the treatment period has concluded. Also, if you are irrigating your yards from the lake, please turn off your irrigation systems until Monday, October 29th. 

Additionally, you will notice a white scum on the water for a few days after treatment. What you see floating are the dead algae cells as they turn white and wind-row towards the shoreline. It is not a problem to be concerned about. Thanks for your understanding.

Starting Monday, October 22nd, the lake lowering will start. The dam will be fully opened by the 30th of October with low level achievement expected around November 15, dependent on rainfall. The launch area will be fairly shallow by then. If you take your watercraft out for the winter, we would advise doing so over the next few weeks. We don’t want you experiencing this.

 

Just like the smoke from the Canadian wildfires has descended upon us, so has the algae. We have been monitoring the waters and are now entering the pre-bloom stage. While we have experienced great water quality during the hot August nights and days for that matter; like all good things, it will come to an end. Water clarity continues to diminish losing over 3′ of clarity in as many weeks. We are, however, the more fortunate ones as you may have read or heard about in the news. Many lakes have shut down due to water quality problems. The recent little blast of rain has brought many new nutrients into the lake from the creeks which will exacerbate the algae growth problem. To see the issue, take a clear tall drinking glass, scoop up some lake water and you will see the algae particles quite clearly.

To make sure we have continued nice clear water and not murky green water, the next treatment of the lake is scheduled for Wednesday, the 22nd of August. It would be helpful is boat traffic could be kept to a minimum during the application process. Your assistance with that would be greatly appreciated.

It’s been a month since the weed treatment and the lake has been in great condition. However in the past week, especially with the hot weather, the lake has started to deteriorate with a loss of 10′ of water clarity and an increase in the algae counts. The good news is testing this past weekend shows no toxicity in the algae samples. It will only get worse with the predicted hot weather for the next few weeks. To make sure we do not experience a bloom making the lake unsuitable for recreational use as well as harmful to the fish, the lake will be treated with Hydrothol on Thursday the 19th. Please look for more information with the notice on your docks scheduled for posting on the 18th.

The weeds are aggressively growing this season. Doug Dorling with NW Aquatics has surveyed the situation and is prepared to attack. Our treatment permits do not allow for a treatment until the 16th of June. Since that day falls on a weekend, and a forecasted awesome one at that, the Diaquat treatment is scheduled to start on Monday the 18th. If your landscape irrigation draws from lake waters, please make sure to turn your systems off for 48 hours. After this treatment application, we will assess the impact to the filamentous algae’s that have been observed in certain locations to see if further treatment is necessary.