A plan to chemically treat Lacamas Lake for toxic algal blooms this summer could get the go-ahead from the Camas City Council on Monday.
Lacamas Lake is one of Camas’ most popular recreation sites but has been plagued in recent summers by blooms of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. The algae can make people sick and kill animals.
If the council OKs the chemical treatment contract with Bellingham-based AquaTechnix on Monday, the lake could be treated beginning in May or June, Camas Public Works Director Steve Wall told the council March 18. A second application of the chemicals would come in August or September, “to help knock things down again.”
Council members are considering a chemical known as EutroSORB WC.
According to the city, “EutroSORB does not impact water quality or chemistry and has an excellent safety profile with no environmental, health or safety concerns for workers, recreational users or fish and wildlife.”
The chemical treatment binds phosphorus in the lake and, as Wall explained, makes it unavailable to feed algal blooms.
Wall said the EutroSORB treatments are expected to cost about $136,000 for two applications. The city will use funds from a 2023 state grant, which totaled $500,000, to pay for “at least the first two years of lake treatments.”
Based on water quality data, Wall’s staff report recommends multiple low-dose treatments spread across the summer to meet water quality objectives
“Due to the unique water chemistry of Lacamas Lake (which has) 80 percent soluble phosphorus … and soft waters, EutroSORB WC would be the preferred treatment option due to the effectiveness, costs and margins of safety for aquatic organisms.”
The city will need an experimental permit from the Washington State Department of Ecology, Wall added.
Prior to applying the chemicals, the city will post water treatment notices in the newspaper, to neighbors living alongside the lake and on flyers along the shoreline and trail.
Although its application may worry residents, Wall said EutroSORB is known for its safety.
“From a safety standpoint, for the environment, wildlife, people and the applicators themselves, this is actually a very safe product to use,” Wall said.
