The Deschutes River below Tumwater Falls flows into the south basin of Capitol Lake. Plans for the lake's future are being developed. Tumwater officials want to keep the northern portion a lake, dredge the middle and turn the southern section into an estuary. A lake advisory panel meets next week to review the options.

Photos by Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Capitol Lake was created from a dam at the northern basin of the lake, where water formerly flowed into Budd Inlet unimpeded.

Tumwater supports lake-estuary mix for Capitol Lake

Advisory group to discuss lake's future Thursday

RUTH LONGORIA, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published August 11, 2001

"I love the lake; we all love the lake. I'd like to see the lake age gracefully in a way that's good for the fish, animals and people." -- Lenore Miller, state Department of General Administration

TUMWATER -- While some folks fear the end of scenic Capitol Lake, others oppose turning it into a mud-filled estuary.

Options for the lake's future will be discussed when the Capitol Lake Adaptive Management Plan, an advisory committee, meets Thursday for a half-day work session.

One option, supported by Tumwater City Council members during their Monday night work session, is a modified version of one of CLAMP's suggestions, a lake-river alternative.

Tumwater's plan would allow the northern portion of the lake to remain a lake, the trap in the middle basin to be dredged and the southern section to become an estuary, Tumwater Mayor Ralph Osgood said.

"The majority of the council wanted the northern basin to remain a lake, not to be divided into half-lake, half-estuary," Osgood said.

He clarified the council's position in a letter written Tuesday to the Capitol Lake Steering Committee.

"While our City Council certainly acknowledges the expense and dredging difficulty associated with continual dredging of Capitol Lake in order to retain it as a lake, the Council believes that the lake is one of the most important physical features of the region and would like to see it maintained as a lake," Osgood wrote.

Osgood said Monday's work session allowed the council to give guidance to Chris Parsons, the city's representative to CLAMP.

In the past, Parsons has expressed interest in returning the lake to an estuary, citing the high cost of dredging, which could cost $1 million every two years.

Created in 1951

Capitol Lake has been a part of South Sound's scenic landscape since the lake was created in 1951.

Its future has been uncertain since about 1995.

That's when the Department of General Administration, which manages the 270-acre state-owned lake, requested permits to dredge the sediment trap in the middle basin.

Capitol Lake consists of three parts:

- North basin, the oval body of water seen from downtown Olympia, which funnels into a dam regulating the flow into Budd Inlet.

- Middle basin, which channels water past Miller Brewing Co. and beneath the interchange of Interstate 5 and U.S. Highway 101.

- South basin on the south side of the freeways.

The lake has been dredged twice in the past. In 1979, about 257,000 cubic yards of sediment were removed from a sediment trap in the middle basin. In 1987, 57,000 cubic yards were removed.

However, for the past several years, environmental issues have prevented the issuance of permits for a dredging program, said Lenore Miller, capital programs manager for the state Department of General Administration.

The lake-river option selected by Tumwater's City Council would allow engineers to design an estuary on the southern portion of the lake, Miller said.

"There could be water streaming through here and there, and it possibly could have walking trails, with fish swimming and frogs," she said. "But this is just a concept that needs to be detailed."

She said there are several considerations, such as storm-water issues, weed control and concerns involving tribal and local government, as well as fish and wildlife issues.

Once CLAMP and GA define what they are trying to do, and confer with an engineering firm, state funding would be requested, Miller said.

"Research is still going on, but there may be federal funds available," Miller said.

And the parkway?

Decisions concerning the lake won't be made based on what is done with Deschutes Parkway, Miller said.

"Although there is a relationship between the two issues, we're not waiting to rebuild the roadway," Miller said.

"There are major funding issues involved with the lake, but the Deschutes Parkway is moving forward."

Miller hopes CLAMP and GA are close to finding a solution for Capitol Lake, she said.

"I love the lake; we all love the lake. I'd like to see the lake age gracefully in a way that's good for the fish, animals and people," she said.

Many South Sound groups have expressed interest in the decision.

The Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Squaxin Tribe have voiced support for an estuary.

Denise Quinn, manager at Miller Brewing Co., said company representatives are not involved on any of the committees.

But there are advantages to both the lake-river and estuary options, Quinn said.

The decision shouldn't affect the brewery, regardless of the brewery's plans to build a wastewater treatment plan, she said.

"Our first preference is still to reuse the water," Quinn said.

What is decided concerning the lake could affect the Fourth Avenue bridge project, said Emmett Dobey, manager of policy and program development for the city of Olympia.

If a large enough estuary were to be created that changed the amount and flow of water, it could create problems for the bridge, Dobey said.

There could be problems for the bridge based on how large an estuary is created, Dobey said.

"But," he said, "This is so far back in the planning stages that I think anything that could be a problem will come out before it gets to be a problem."

Ruth Longoria covers Tumwater for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5435.

On the web:

General Administration.

City of Tumwater.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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