Health District, Ecology, MLIRD to talk water quality

MOSES LAKE — State and local officials will be meeting this Wednesday, Dec. 19, to begin talks on what to do about blue-green algae blooms on Moses Lake.

According to Patrick McGuire, a hydropower certification manager with the Department of Ecology, the meeting will get all of the people involved in managing and caring for Moses Lake in one room and talking to each other.

“We’re going to look at what can be done locally,” McGuire said. “Everybody get acquainted, who can do what, and what can be done locally to reduce the pollutants, the phosphorous and nitrates.”

The meeting, which is being hosted by the Grant County Healthy District (GCHD) at its offices in Moses Lake, will include representatives from the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District (MLIRD), the health district, Ecology and local elected officials. The meeting is not open to the public, but at some point there will be public meetings.

“My hope is to get an understanding of everybody’s roles and eventually see how citizens can help,” said Jon Ness, the environmental health manager for the county health district.

The GCHD issued a series of warnings beginning in late August about the presence of blue-green algae in Moses Lake. The algae, which can bloom in warm, nutrient-rich water, can also produce a toxin that is dangerous to humans and animals. Levels of the toxin in September were so high that health district officials issued warnings and posted signs, first for portions of the lake, and then for all of Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir, cautioning residents that the level of toxins in the water posed risks.

The MLIRD is applying for a $50,000 grant from Ecology to study the sources of the nutrients that fed the blue-green algae blooms this year.

Ecology has conducted a number of studies on Moses Lake since the early 1960s, when blue-green algae blooms were a fairly constant occurrence. The primary concern is phosphorus, which is a nutrient that promotes the growth of blue-green algae.

Part of the problem is the nature of the lake itself, Ecology concluded in a review of those reports published in 2000 — the lake is shallow (with an average depth of just over 18 feet), has a lot of marshy edges that encourage algae growth, and winds promote the churning of phosphorus sediments.

However, part of the problem is also human activity on the lake. Runoff from farms and septic tanks, as well as the high phosphorus load from Rocky Ford Creek (which hosts two fish hatcheries) also contribute, and may contribute significantly, according to Ecology reports.

“There are a whole lot of sources,” McGuire said. “Every lake has its own natural sources.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.