October 10, 2007 - Annual drawdown of Lake Tapps' water level to commence
November 1, 2007
Puget Sound Energy, in consultation with the Lake
Tapps Community Council, will begin dropping the water level of Lake Tapps on
Nov. 1 as part of the reservoir’s annual wintertime drawdown.
The community council is urging lakeside residents to remove their boats
before the drawdown starts to avoid water craft from becoming stranded on
shallow, exposed inlets.
PSE plans to lower the reservoir’s water level about
eight feet by the end of January. The
traditional drawdown is designed to ensure that waves from severe wintertime
storms don’t overtop the reservoir’s dikes.
The drawdown also helps to kill milfoil in the lake’s shallower areas
and freshen the reservoir’s water quality.
PSE plans to begin refilling the reservoir by about
March 1, with the goal of returning the lake to its full, summer-recreation
level by mid-April 2008.
For current information on Lake Tapps water levels or
to report boating, public-safety, or litter problems at the reservoir, call the
community council’s Lake Tapps Community Information Line at 253-891-5460.
September
18, 2006 - Annual drawdown of Lake Tapps’ water level to commence Oct. 2, 2006
Puget
Sound Energy will begin dropping the water level of Lake Tapps on Oct. 2 as part
of the reservoir’s annual wintertime drawdown, prompting the Lake Tapps
Community Council to urge the removal of boats from the lake as soon as possible
to avoid water craft from becoming stranded on shallow, exposed inlets.
If
fall precipitation is relatively normal, the PSE-owned reservoir’s water level
should drop by about a foot per week. It should take PSE about four months to lower the reservoir by
the desired 16 to 17 feet.
The
traditional wintertime drawdown is designed to hinder the growth of milfoil in
the lake’s shallower areas, help freshen the lake’s water quality, and make
it easier for property owners around the reservoir to maintain or repair boat
docks.
This
winter, the drawdown also will enable PSE crews to install a “back-flow
preventer” near Printz Basin. The
device will allow White River water to continue running down PSE diversion
flumes and canals into Lake Tapps, but will block reservoir water from surging
back into the diversion canal if a major earthquake or storm ever caused a
large, west-to-east back-flow of water.
Under
an agreement with Lake Tapps property owners,
PSE will return the reservoir to its full, summer-recreation level by
mid-April next year.
For current information on Lake
Tapps water levels or to report boating, public-safety, or litter problems at
the reservoir, call the community council’s Lake Tapps Community Information
Line at 253-891-5460.
September 25, 2006 - Notice from the Department of Ecology
To those interested in the Lake Tapps Public
Water Supply Project:
Today, September 25, 2006, the Department of
Ecology posted the draft Lake Tapps Public Water Supply Project report of
examination on the Lake Tapps Web page for an informal 45-day review period.
Though this review is not required by law, there is considerable interest in
this project.
Ecology invites the public and all interested
parties to submit comments or suggestions for its consideration before it makes
a final decision on the water right. Ecology will carefully consider all
comments or suggestions before we make a final decision on this water right.
Ecology does not expect to be able to respond to comments or suggestions in
writing.
You are receiving this notification as part of an
all inclusive E-mail list collected during the life of this project. If
you would like to receive future E-mail updates please register your name using
the E-mail List link at the bottom of the Lake Tapps Web page.
Here is the link to the Lake Tapps Public Water
Supply Project Web page:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/swro/lktappshome.html
Thank you,
Chris Anderson
Department of Ecology
Water Resources Program
Public Information Technical Support
(360) 407-6634 -
Work
(360) 407-6574 -
Fax
mailto:cand461@ecy.wa.gov
- E-mail
September
25, 2006 - Notice
from Agreement Dynamics to members of the Lake Tapps Task Force
Dear
Task Force Members:
We
have been notified that the Department of Ecology (DOE) has issued the draft
water right. Over the next month we’re convening several meetings to review
and evaluate the provisions of this draft and their impacts. As you may know,
interested parties have 45 days after the issuance of the draft water right to
submit comments. In order for all Task Force members to become fully informed
about the draft and to determine what feedback the Task Force deems most
important to provide DOE, the following efforts are underway:
- On
Wed., 9/27, the E&O Committee will meet 9:45-11:45 a.m. at the Pierce
County Executive’s office (930 Tacoma Ave. S., Suite 737) with Ecology
representatives to get an overview of the draft water right, discuss key
issues, and develop an educational and evaluative process for the Task Force
to review this draft over the next month.
- On
Thurs., 10/5, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the
Bonney
Lake
Public
Safety
Building
, DOE will present the draft water right to the Task Force. At that meeting
we’ll also discuss the process by which Task Force members can become
fully informed about the water right.
- During
the month of October, an educational and evaluative process will take place
for Task Force members. The schedule of meetings for that process will be
developed and published immediately following the Oct. 5 Task Force meeting.
- These
efforts will culminate in a Task Force meeting on Wed., 11/1
from 6:30-8:30 p.m. (
Bonney
Lake
Public
Safety
Building
) wherein the Task Force will discuss and determine its comments on the
draft water right.
Please
contact our office if you have any questions about the next month’s
activities. We look forward to seeing you at E&O and upcoming Task Force
meetings.
Sincerely,
Rhonda and Ginny
Membership
is free - click here to join and receive Lake
Tapps info via email
Welcome to the Save Lake Tapps Coalition website.
The coalition is a Lake Tapps area group consisting of homeowners who live on
and off the lake. The coalition is chartered to preserve Lake Tapps to
meet homeowner requirements. The coalition is a member-based organization
and 100% of all membership donations are used to communicate and educate the area
homeowners, as well as provide legal support for Lake Tapps issues.
Recent
Information:
On April 27, the
Coalition sponsored a very successful Community Meeting at North Tapps Middle
School. Despite a bad wind storm at the start of the meeting, over 250
people from around Lake Tapps attended the meeting. The agenda included a
review of the Lake Tapps system, from the Diversion Dam in Buckley to the
outflow at the hydroelectric plant.
Ralph Mason, a board
member of the Save Lake Tapps Coalition, presented the key topic, the
Community Agreement between the Group of Nine (7 Lake Tapps homeowner
associations, as well as Friends of Lake Tapps and our Coalition). The
Community Agreement outlines key points associated with the lake. The
value of the agreement is more critical than ever, now that Puget Sound as
stopped hydroelectric power generation. Key agreement provisions:
1. The Lake
will be at Normal Full Pool (541.5msl-543msl) for Annual Recreation Period from
April 15 - October 31. Operational variances may be required due to (1)
available precipitation, (2) terms and conditions of the Water Rights, (3)
milfoil control, (4) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requirements,
(5) terms and conditions of applicable law.
2. A Lake
Management Team will be established consisting of PSE, the Lake Tapps Community,
and other appropriate persons or entities. The team will plan yearly
operations of the Project and diversions under the Water Rights.
3. The
community will provide 'in-kind services', such as establishing a Boat
Management Plan, a Lake Watch Program and provide community communication.
4. PSE shall
control milfoil (an invasive plant that chokes out lakes) to the extent required
by law or to achieve PSE's own operational goals. Extended drawdowns can
be used if necessary to kill the weed.
5. PSE shall
inlcude this Agreement as an element of any license application to be submitted
to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Shawn Bunney, our
Pierce County Councilman, discuss the status of the lake. He stressed that
the future of Lake Tapps is not solidified at this time. The Water Rights
is crucial to the future of the lake. The Water Rights is a right granted
to PSE by the state to use Lake Tapps water to generate drinking water.
This will provide the next revenue source to sustain Lake Tapps and is critical
to the future of the lake. The Water Right has been granted to PSE, but
various agencies have appealed the Water Right. The appeals will be heard
in October of 2004, and we hope this issue will be settled. After the
appeals are cleared, then the plan is for Cascade Water Alliance to work with
PSE to develop a water treatment system to create drinking water. The
drinking water will be used throughout the region. The revenue from the
drinking water will provide the millions of dollars per year required to
maintain Lake Tapps.
To view the complete Lake Tapps Agreement between the
Community and Puget Sound Energy, click here.
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