Why are Salmon Creek trail ponds drying up?

For residents like Peggy McCarthy, the county’s answers don’t add up. McCarthy, who has lived in her home for more than 30 years, said there have been beaver dams in the area for years, but the water has never dropped this low.

“I walk the trail almost every day, from one end to the other. There are lots of us who walk that trail daily, and we keep a really good eye on what’s going on,” McCarthy said. “I could watch the beavers bringing their babies out every June and watch the herons sitting on top of the dam. It was just amazing to see all this wildlife.”

Instead of beavers, McCarthy said she thinks the lack of water in the ponds is more likely due to the growth in housing along the trail and the installation of related stormwater and sewer lines.

“The county has also been working on the sewage issue because of all the houses built on the other side, the south side of Salmon Creek, are really overloading the water treatment plant,” she said.

McCarthy said another resident spotted someone putting a pipe and water pump into the pond. Houston said the county was also notified of a pipe in the pond in April. He said the county’s geographic information services department couldn’t identify any pipes belonging in the area.

“Once weather conditions improve, we plan to investigate the pipe. It is important to note that it is illegal to block or impound water in this area unless a rigorous permitting process is adhered to,” Houston said.

There’s another possible reason for the low water levels: drought. Washington’s Department of Ecology declared a statewide drought emergency, including Clark County, on April 16. Only the Seattle, Everett and Tacoma metro areas were excluded.

A drought emergency is declared when water supply conditions are expected to fall below 75 percent of average, and there is potential for undue hardships due to low water supply.

Ecology last week warned that another low snowpack means the state’s water resources and reserves are severely depleted.

While no hardships have been reported in Clark County, the county was listed as “abnormally dry” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s drought information center. The federal agency said a combination of a colder than average winter, rapid spring snowmelt, and dry summer caused lower than normal hydropower production in Washington and meant some reservoirs did not refill.

McCarthy said she and her neighbors plan to organize and pressure the county to further investigate what’s happening at the ponds.

“There’s always been water. That’s why I bought my property, because there was a big lake in front of it,” McCarthy said. “It was such a beautiful view.”