Lake Update

Lake Alert March 2004

COMMUNITY SNAPSHOT
Thursday, June 17, 2004
COMMUNITY

SNAPSHOT From The Oregonian

Sanitary Sewer Overflow
A small sanitary sewer overflow caused by grease/soap build-up in a manhole occurred this morning (3/10/04) in the SW Summer Lake Drive area. An estimated 500 gallons overflowed into the eastern end of Summer Lake. Residents are asked to keep out of the east end of Summer Lake until 4:00 PM on 3/12/04.

The specifics of the overflow are:

Location - SW Summer Lake Drive

Cause - grease/soap build-up in a manhole

Overflow - an estimated 500 gallons of sewage overflowed into the storm system and into the eastern end of Summer Lake.

City Clean-up Response - Sanitary sewer line was cleared with sewer cleaner, street was washed down, and storm line was cleaned and vacuumed out. All clean-up water was vacuumed up and disposed of at Durham Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Public Notification - Keep Out/No Access signs were posted around the east end of Summer Lake, in Summer Lake Park and signs will remain up through 4:00 on 3/12/04.

Questions can be directed to the Eric Hand, Wastewater & Storm Division Supervisor:
eric@ci.tigard.or.us
503-639-4171 x2607

October 4, 2001 Report (See end of this report)
The Summer Lake Task Force, its objective and goals set by the City, has completed the work of proposing a recommendation to the City Council. Part of the Task Force objective as set by the City was "to provide a free-flowing..stream during periods of low flow to avoid increased water temperature.." The Task Force duties as set by the City included: "Select and work with a consulting firm to develop design options.Present the options to the neighborhoods. Select a preferred option and present it to the neighborhoods and receive comments" and lastly, "Present a consensus recommendation to the City Council for approval." Thereafter, the Task Force is to monitor the project to its completion.

RECOMMENDED PROPOSAL

After presenting several options to a neighborhood meeting on November 21, 2000, the Task Force voted as follows: 5 votes for "Open Channel Low Flow Bypass", 1 vote for "Stream & Backwater Areas", 1 absent/not voting, and 2 for the "status quo" (myself and Gene McAdams, a citizen of Tigard).

Registered participants at the neighbor-hood meeting totaled 58. Of the 33 persons who provided written comments, the opinion most often expressed was that the lake ought to be kept intact.
It was noted by many that there was very little, if any, data to support the need for altering the lake, particularly for the needs of fish. Among the rating criteria presented, highest importance was given to "minimize neighborhood impacts" and second was "protect Park and Lake",3rd was "improve water quality", 4th was "enhance habitat and travel" for fish, 5th was "cost effectiveness and afforability" and last was "meet regulations."

Most participants indicated they preferred the "Piped Low Flow Bypass" if the "status quo" cannot be maintained. However, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife has changed its mind and stated it would not approve the piped bypass if the City were to propose it.

WHAT IS NEXT?

The Task Force recommendation to the City Council, "Open Channel Low Flow Bypass" went to the City Council for decision on March 13, 2001. Owing to the insufficiency of data for judging the efficacy of the recommended option, the consultants and City staff recommended a data-gathering phase of one year. The consultants indicated that without that data, it would be impossible to proceed. Since there is no certainty of obtaining an adequate source of coolwater needed to create habitat for salmonids during low flows in summer and there has been no analysis of what it would cost to obtain such water it, further study was recommended by the Task Force. The critical factors for trout and other salmonids are water cooler than 64 degrees Farenheit and adequate levels of dissolved oxygen. Until those critical needs are met, the project should not go forward. I believe those needs cannot be satisfied at reasonable cost and therefore recommended against expenditures to study the matter further. My recommendation was NOT taken.

Councilor Patton led the discussion by agreeing with a further study and data- gathering phase, but indicated that she was not convinced that spending $500,000 (consultant estimate) to complete the Open Channel Low Flow Bypass option was worthwhile on a cost v. benefit basis. She was "not impressed" with veiled threats from proponents that the City was risking lawsuits if it did not go ahead with the project. Councilor Dirksen was "not comfortable" with doing nothing, saying we need to look for a compromise. The question for him was: What is the right thing to do? He wanted to know more about what can be done to improve water quality in the lake. Councilor Shekla agreed with Patton and Dirksen, but raised questions about what law and regulations may require of the City. Councilor Moore was absent. Mayor Griffith indicated a strong concern about the adequacy of water flowing into the bypass channel during low flow periods of summer, without which no real good could come from the project.

The Council agreed to go ahead with a year of further data-gathering and analyis. Unified Sewerage Agency testified that they had $250,000 in their budget to pay half the cost of the project. The Council seemed to be unfazed by the fact that in November 2000 they had agreed to leave the rebuilt beaver dam at 121st St alone so long as the beaver keep rebuilding it. The State fish people had OK'd that approach. So now a 4-5 foot dam again blocks fingerlings from ascending Summer Creek. This raises the question: Why put a bypass through Summer Lake dam if the fish cannot reach it because of the Merestone Pond dam?

The Council agreed to remove the suspension on completion of the Summer Lake Master Plan while the fate of Summer Lake was being decided. They decided to have the Plan state that the best chance of providing fish passage and improved water quality seems to lie in the Task Force recommended option. I expect the coming summer will see some monitoring and data-gathering by consultants and in due course of time a conclusion will be reached that the selected option is infeasible. At that point, the whole project could be abandoned--probably without any fanfare from the City or any proponents of the project.

October 4, 2001 At the City meeting on the 2nd draft of the Summer Lake Park Master Plan, city officials stated that the second phase (data gathering) has NOT been initiated. This means that a full summer in which the data on water temperatures, alternative sources of water, and other stream conditions could have been gathered has passed. This suggests that it will be at least a year before any sort of report coming from a consultant on the feasibility of the so-called Open Channel Low-Flow Bypass option is available for review. The officials said that when the second phase starts,there will be "appropriate public involvement."


Howard Banta, Task Force Member and
President, Friends of Summer Lake