Will Hicks Lake finally get county help? Meeting set
(WCN file photo of Hicks Lake)
Neighbors led by Dick Thurnau have worked a long time to try to get the county to do something about Hicks Lake water quality. Now there’s word a plan’s in the works – and a meeting is set. Here’s the county announcement:
King County is developing a plan to help improve water quality in White Center’s Hicks Lake so that people and pets are safe from potentially harmful algae blooms in the small lake.
The King County Water and Land Resources Division has set a public meeting for March 22 at the White Center Library to share information on a scheduled treatment of aluminum sulfate in Hicks Lake. The meeting is set for 6:30-8 p.m. at the White Center Library, 11220 16th Ave. SW, Seattle.
The Washington State Department of Ecology has identified Hicks Lake as having “impaired” water quality because of excessively high phosphorus concentrations, which promote frequent algae blooms in the lake.
These algae blooms have produced biotoxins that are potentially harmful to people and pets that come into contact with the water. As a result of the algae blooms, warning signs have been posted along the Hicks Lake shoreline during the recreational season to alert people of the potential danger of contact with the water.
To address this ongoing water quality problem, King County has received a permit to treat the lake in May with aluminum sulfate to lower phosphorus concentrations in the water and “cap” the phosphorus-rich sediments. A similar action was taken at Hicks Lake in 2005.
More information about lake stewardship in King County is available at http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wlr/sections-programs/science-section/lake-stewardship-program.aspx./blockquote>
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March 13th, 2011 at 10:16 am
Will the proposed Alum treatment be benefical to Hicks Lake pollted waters? The Alum treatment performed in 2005 was short lived. There are far better resolutions that should be investigated. After all these many years our government needs to provide adequate solutions to this contaminated lake water containing dangeous Fecal Coli form (POOP) plus many other un welcome contaminates for the possible short or long term health effects it has on our Children ,Students and the Community.