Liberty Lake Drain To Be Cleaned

Sat., Aug. 26, 2000

By Lorie Hutson lorieh@spokesman.com (509) 459-5446

The silt-choked channel that drains Liberty Lake finally will be cleaned starting early next month.

Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District officials have been trying for several years to get the necessary approval to scrape the drain clean.

“It took a long time to determine it was exempt from a lot of permitting,” said district manager Lee Mellish said, because the channel is actually a man-made irrigation ditch.

Farmers used the channel to irrigate their crops in the early 1900s. Now, it drains water from the lake during high water in the spring and fall.

Mellish said up to three feet of silt has accumulated in some parts of the channel over the years. Asphalt and concrete pieces also were dumped into it. Last summer, community volunteers helped clear the trees, vegetation and other debris that that clogged the channel.

The high-water levels have breached a dike that separates the lake from a marsh, which washes nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen into the lake. High nutrient levels could cause the return of algae blooms that were once a problem for the lake.

Officials with Washington State University’s Water Research Center have long warned that flooding and lake water pollution problems will continue if the drain channel is not kept clean.

“It’s a project that we’ve been wanting to get done for a long time,” Mellish said.

Crews will remove the silt from the one-mile long channel and truck it to the Liberty Lake wastewater treatment plant. There it will be used to fill in some lowland areas, Mellish said.

Also, one of the sumps that gather water from the drain channel will be enlarged to handle the increased flow of water from the lake.

The work is expected to take about a month and cost about $150,000. Liberty Lake Water and Sewer has received a loan from the Centennial Cleanwater Fund to pay from the project.

Sewer and Water District officials will begin a study this fall of the Liberty Lake watershed and the lake’s deteriorating dike.

Mellish said estimates for the dike repair have ranged from $200,000 to $600,000.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.