City of Soap Lake will retain its name

SOAP LAKE - Waters lapping against Soap Lake's city limits will continue to share the same name as the city.

Washington state's Committee on Geographic Names rejected a proposal Friday to rename the body of water to Lake Smokiam, a Salish word meaning "healing waters." The committee voted 4-1 against the re-naming at their semiannual meeting, citing lack of community support.

Several businesses in the city felt there would be significant costs associated to the name change, including brochures and advertising, Soap Lake Mayor Raymond Gravelle said. "There was definitely concern about that. The other thing is that most of the old-timers felt like it was Soap Lake for 100 years, so why change it?" he said.

Salish is a native tongue of the Colville Confederated Tribes, who supported the change. But Soap Lake's City Council, Grant County Commissioners and the Yakama Nation all opposed the name change. The Yakama Nation opposed the measure because they had another name for the area.

Soap Lake community members were "overwhelmingly against" the change, Gravelle said.

Grant County Commission Chair Richard Stevens said after the Soap Lake City Council voted against the switch, he felt that commissioners should not endorse the change.

Representatives from the Colville Confederate Tribes, Yakama Nation and local proponents for renaming the lake were not available for comment.

The name Smokiam will continue to be used throughout the city, including the annual Smokiam Days festival.

The committee also considered geographic names changes in 13 other counties Friday, including some in Yakima, Chelan and Douglas counties.