Algae treatment for Echo Lake

Echo Lake water quality is tested weekly at the little swimming beach, by the city and King County. Other data is collected six months of the year by your volunteer King County Lake Stewards, seen heading out with their equipment.

Story &  Photos by Ann Michel

Help for Shoreline’s Beautiful Lake

Echo Lake is my favorite place to swim or paddle or float when the water is clear. Some summers I can do this most days. Other summers the lake is closed for weeks at a time due to algae blooms. 

Algae bloom on Echo Lake

Over time Echo Lake has become plagued by more frequent and severe algae blooms. Some of these are merely unsightly; others contain toxic algae or HABs which can lead to closures of the lake.

But help is on the way!

The City of Shoreline has received two Department of Ecology grants: first to study what is driving Echo Lake’s particular summer blooms, and now to begin treatment to cut down on the blooms.

River Otters enjoying a roll in the hay, er, grass. This week we saw three of them.

Protecting Echo Lake’s Wildlife

Toxic Algae blooms (or Cyanobacteria or HABs) not only close the lake to recreation, they harm wildlife.

“According to the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms harm fish, waterfowl, aquatic invertebrates, submerged aquatic plants, and wildlife that drink from or feed near affected lakes.”

Dogs are especially affected by toxic algae blooms as they lick it off their fur after swimming. Dogs have died in King County from HABs.

This lovely living blob is a Magnificent Bryozoan!
It was discovered growing on a cattail stalk in Echo Lake.

Thank you to the city, and to all of you for your help protecting Echo Lake for humans and animals alike! Feel free to contact me about Friends of Echo Lake or the King County Lake Steward program at agrmichel@gmail.com.

Ann Michel
Friends of Echo Lake
King County Lake Steward