Town Hall meeting focuses on Lake Chelan

CHELAN – Water quality, supply and sustainment was the topic of the City’s second town hall meeting, Thursday, April 19.
The meeting included presentations by Mike Kaputa of Chelan County Natural Resources Department, Phil Long of the Lake Chelan Research Institute (LCRI), Marcie Clement of Chelan County PUD, John Olson of Friends of Lake Chelan and Jake Youngren of the City of Chelan. Each presentation touched on an issue or concern for Chelan’s proudest asset, it’s lake.
Initiating the night’s presentations was Mike Kaputa on Lake Chelan’s water quality and supply. “What we’re trying to do differently,” he explained, “in the Watershed Planning Unit and those of us working on water quality, is approach problems (such as irregular data) from a long-term data trend analysis.” Using a long-term approach allows for a greater amount of data to be collected, and a larger number of variables to be factored into any data retrieved. Once the data is understood, he explained, the groups will then be able to better come up with local solutions. “We want to take a very deliberate, scientific approach around understanding what’s going on with water quality,” he stated, “and then if it does look like it’s trending negatively, for whatever reason, then we want to be able to respond to that.” The major efforts of the Watershed Planning Unit currently include a long-term water quality monitoring program, he continued, “and we started doing annual, monthly sampling over the last couple of years,” he added, “with partners who have contributed to that effort.” Recently, however, there have been more discussions on the possibility of the presence of aquatic invasive species in Lake Chelan.
The invasive species, including the Zebra and Quagga Mussels, can be transported to the lake on or in other watercrafts such as boats. “It is a point of concern,” said Kaputa, “we’re not over reacting to it, but it is something we need to look at.”
Next to present information and concerns was Phil Long with the Research Institute. Leading into his presentation, Long presented an outline addressing threats to Chelan’s water quality and how our lake is comparable to other lakes of significance in the western United States.
“We are the third deepest lake in the U.S.,” Long began, “but we lack this long-term monitoring.” There were no water quality measurements performed between 2007 and 2016. The LCRI was created in 2016 to ensure that gaps, such as the nine years previous, didn’t occur and to promote a forward-moving exploration and research program.
Long’s presentation also addressed a lingering question for many in the community. With such a pristine lake, why such concern that it warrants a town hall meeting? “What are the threats to our high-water clarity, low nutrients, low algae and low contaminants,” he began, “I’ve broken these down into two categories,” he continued, “natural, things we don’t control, and human impacts, which we potentially have a chance at controlling.” Under natural threats, things such as forest fires, pollen deposition and bird defecation were among the several concerns. On the man-caused side of threats, concerns such as leaky or failed septic systems, fuel hydrocarbons from powered-watercrafts and boats, as well as invasive species were included.
Studies conducted currently to gather information on the lake by LCRI include monthly water clarity testing, monthly nutrient concentration testing, temperature measure at 15-minute intervals and key water quality parameter readings at 15-minute intervals which include temperature, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll and blue-green algae.
Marcie Clement, with the Chelan County PUD, provided a presentation on the utility district’s hydroelectric project. The project, she explained, comes with licensing requirements, governed by the Federal Power Act and Clean Water Act. The conditions for attainment of the license require protection, enhancement and mitigation of the water. The PUD participates with several other water-quality orientated groups throughout the valley, including the Watershed Planning Units in Lake Chelan, Entiat and Wenatchee, as well as Fishery Forums with Chelan River and Lake Chelan.
Access to the lake was next to be addressed during the informational presentations. John Olson, of Friends of Lake Chelan, began by voicing the group’s concerns on the impact from the ever-looming population growth and the current and future lack of access to the lake. His presentation pointed out that no individual or entity can say exactly how many people are coming into Chelan. The Lake Chelan Community Open Space Vision was referred to by Olson, utilizing several of the statements as to the growing concern for the lack of public access to the water. The last segment of open land with lake access, he emphasized, is the three fingers. “Only the lower end of the lake provides any physically accessible shoreline,” explained his presentation, “of that shoreline, 99 percent is privately owned, yet the public owns 100 percent of the lake.”