The Splash
WATERFRONT
Continued from page 32 sewer service. In 2006, the district was one of the first dischargers in the region to upgrade their facility to achieve enhanced phosphorous removal from its discharge to the Spokane River. The district invested $11.6 million and completed phase one of facility upgrades. Today, phase two of facility upgrades is underway. These upgrades include advanced tertiary treatment through chemical addition and membrane filtration. This additional treatment will further reduce phosphorous discharge to less than a half pound per day. This will equate to better than 99 percent removal of phosphorous entering the facility. The end product will be “Class A” reclaimed water. Cost of this upgrade is $17.1 million. Today, current specific lake management activities include: • Annual long-term data collection (dating back to 1968) on the lake and inflow streams. This occurs every other week (May through October) and is aimed at providing water quality baseline and trends critical for understanding lake health and triggers for algae blooms. The district also monitors algae bloom toxicity;
AUGUST 2016 • 33
ecology as implementation of such techniques also maintains water quality. • Lake stewardship is promoted in watershed studies, environmental education programs, conferences and workshops as well as dissemination of newsletter and news articles such as this. To address the concerns of environmental groups, citizens and some agency personnel, agencies studied the effect of restoration efforts on the lake's health. To date, these studies indicate that the lake has remained in a healthy mesotrophic (lakes with an intermediate level of productivity) condition since restoration. No large-scale algal bloom has occurred in the past 40 years, though the threat remains and occasional blooms are expected to occur. In 2015, the lake experienced an algae bloom of an uncommon (especially to Liberty Lake) and relatively unresearched phytoplankton called Gomphosphaeria. For five weeks in July and August this bloom was relatively intense, but did not
compare to the scale of blooms observed prior to lake restoration. Today, the district is embarking on collecting additional data to understand the current lake health status, potential nutrient loading and the effects of climate on lake algae blooms. Last year, the Northwest experienced one of the warmest and driest years on record. For Liberty Lake, it hit record low lake levels, lacked snowpack and outlet flushing critical to sustain desirable water quality. Many lakes in the Pacific Northwest suffered toxic cyanobacteria blooms forcing closures. Luckily for Liberty Lake, we avoided a toxic bloom and the five-week duration remedied potential closure. Clean lakes increase property values, contribute to the economic status of entire communities and add to their intrinsic aesthetic value. According to a report called “Water quality affects property prices: A case study of selected Maine lakes” (1996), a 1-meter drop in clarity cause real estate values to plummet by 10 to 15 percent and economic loss to a neighboring
town by 5 percent The Delavan Lake Improvement Association in Wisconsin completed a study showing how improved water quality positively affects property values. Delavan Lake experienced nuisance algae blooms throughout the 1980s. From 1987 to 1995, state agencies spent $7 million on successfully rehabilitating the lake. During the period spent on rehabilitation, property values increased by 352 percent. Defining the value of lakes allows us to put the risk of degrading water quality and the cost of protecting our lakes in perspective. The money people spend to use lakes gives rise to additional money being spent within these communities. If water quality of a lake declines, not only would the enjoyment of residents and visitors suffer, so would the economic activity they create. Improving water quality would have the opposite effect. For additional information on Liberty Lake or the district’s lake management activities, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 9225443. More information at www. libertylake.org.
• Milfoil management (see the Water Front column in July’s Splash). The district conducts surveys, harvest and treatment activities for milfoil and other aquatic and terrestrial invasive plants; • Stormwater management around the lake is the other primary tool the district utilizes to maintain water quality. Protective measures are in place to reduce and prevent nonpoint source pollution, including diverting runoff, reducing lawn fertilization and preventing disruptions to the watershed. • Shoreline protection. The district routinely observes the lake shoreline and reports shoreline alterations that could adversely affect the lake to local and state agencies for remedial enforcement action. Reporting such activities contribute to maintenance of the shoreline ecology and lake water quality. Through administration of its stormwater management program, the district informs shoreland owners of landscaping techniques to protect the shoreline
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