Large sediment plume enters Lake Coeur d’Alene
Agencies trying to determine source of plume
The cause of a large silt plume in Lake Coeur d’Alene remained a mystery on Tuesday.
Steve Funk, a local resident, noticed the muddy water spilling into Wolf Lodge Bay on Monday and alerted officials at the Forest Service, Idaho Department of Lands and the Department of Environmental Quality. A picture he snapped showed silty water moving across the bay.
But agency officials were unable to detect the cause of the plume. Based on the high volume of sediment, Forest Service officials were looking for a “point source” for the dirt, such as creek jumping its banks and cutting into a hillside, a landslide or a road washing out, said Jason Kirchner, Idaho Panhandle National Forests spokesman.
Logging at the Forest Service’s 889-acre Blue Alder sale had been scaled back earlier to reduce erosion during the recent heavy rains and snowmelt, Kirchner said.
Diane Partridge, a state forest practices advisor, drove around the watershed above the bay on Tuesday afternoon, but couldn’t spot the source of the silt plume either. Creeks were running clear below the Forest Service sale and several logging operations on private lands that she inspected.
The plume was still visible in the lake, but was not as severe as it was on Monday, Partridge said.