EIS for Capitol Lake should include swimming

The Environmental Impact Statement for Capitol Lake must include reopening the lake to swimming and recognize that the lake is protected under the National Historic Preservation Act.

Capitol Lake has not been dredged since 1986. The average water depth is much less than it was when it was used by the community for swimming and boating. Also, there has been no regular aquatic weed removal program. Thus the lake appears stagnant and choked with weeds and algae. By keeping the lake properly dredged and the amount of aquatic vegetation kept near an optimum level in the south and middle basins, the deeper, cooler waters of the dredged north basin would grow less weeds and algae, and would actually serve as a chemical and biological treatment pond that removes or metabolizes any pollution coming down the Deschutes River that would otherwise flow straight into Budd Inlet.

The lake also serves as a sediment settling basin and the alluvial soil would be a marketable product. Communities that have polluted stream or sewer discharges, such as Tacoma’s twin 96-inch storm drains, would pay a lot of money to install such a treatment pond, if only they had space to install it. The Evergreen State college environmental scientists Dr. Milne, Soule, and Ladd have shown that the lake is a water quality benefit to all: savecapitollake.org/documents/15-reasons.html

Capitol Lake provides such a treatment pond while also serving as a national historic site, and reopening the lake to swimming and recreation needs to be studied in the EIS.