Irrigation district works to keep Moses Lake usable
Permits needed for lake sediment removal
MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake City Council members took a boat ride to learn about issues effecting Moses Lake Thursday.
The Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District (MLIRD) hosted the council to gain support in combating several problems they might face cleaning the lake up.
Director Richard Teals and staff member Don Beckley have been working to clean up the lake for several years.
One might wonder what they have been cleaning up in the lake. Just about everything. Sediment, weeds, dead animals and dead fish are just a few things plaguing the lake.
If these things are not taken care of, citizens will not have a usable lake, Beckley said.
The MLIRD has been trying to obtain a permit to remove sediment for three years. They have been unable to get the permit due to several factors. One problem is there is more than one permit. Many different government agencies must approve the permits, and if one organization does not approve the permit or does not approve it within a certain time frame, the process is killed and they have to start over. The MLIRD has spent approximately $60,000 to $70,000 trying to get the permits to clean the lake up, Teals said.
The district is a little more hopeful in gaining permission this year, he said. They hired a professional consultant, Glenn Grette, to handle the permit process. They expect to get the permits by this winter.
Once permitted, they will start sediment removal in the smaller parts of the lake such as Laguna or Wild Goose, Teals said. By next year they hope to work on Parker Horn.
They plan to either rent or purchase equipment to remove built up sediment from the lake. They can remove sediment when the water drops from the shoreline in the winter and they will treat the weeds with organic chemicals. The chemicals are not harmful to the wildlife, Beckley said.
Sediment build up is caused by many factors, he said. For Moses Lake it's caused by dust storms, street sweepers and approximately 6 inches of sediment from the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. The lake gathers approximately half of an inch in sediment annually.
Beckley provided a demonstration to Mayor Ronald C. Covey and council member Brent Reese to show how much build-up has accumulated. He stuck a probe down to the bottom of the lake. In some areas the probe was 4 feet deep in sediment before it hit the original rocky bottom of the lake.
This has a tremendous effect on those who use the lake, he added.
The sediment allows various types of weeds to grow. One in particular is milfoil. Milfoil is what most people can see from their boats or jet skis. It is green and slimy and can clog boat engines and personal watercraft, Beckley added.
"You can't use the lake once the milfoil takes over," Reese said. "This is our lake and we need to take of it."
Teals took the boat to an area where they removed sediment in the past. He pointed out the shoreline was still intact but there were fewer weeds allowing for easier access to the lake.
"We've got such a wonderful opportunity," Covey said. "We can improve the quality of life by improving the quality of the lake."