1. Lacamas Lake Water Quality
Is Lacamas Lake safe to swim in?

2. I began this project with the assumption that Lacamas Lake was safe to swim in but is it?
This spot is so beautiful with a boat launch, pier, picnic areas and trails.
After studying this area for a few weeks my opinion started to change. Is all of this beauty just lipstick on a pig?

3. This lake is 65 feet deep and 315 acres.
It extends from Hockinson on the North end to Camas on the South.
This watershed flows through forest, farm, industrial and residential areas .
Poor land management and development has allowed sediment and toxins to spill into the lake causing algae growth and eutrophication below 18 feet.
High nitrogen, phosphorus and ammonia levels have been recorded.
Lake health has not improved much since clean up efforts in the 80’s and 90’s.

4. Sedimentation in Lake

5. Land Use Around Lacamas Lake

6. Heritage trail is 3.5 miles of beautiful scenery and well maintained green space.

7. Satellite view of Lacamas Lake

8. Water Height from Surface to Bottom of Pier

9. Water Temperature

10. Air Temperature

11. pH levels

12. BOD

13. Dissolved Oxygen

14. Phosphates

15. Nitrate – none detected

16. We were disappointed after evaluating the macro-invertebrates in the lake.
Finds:
4 aquatic worms
2 blackfly larvae
3 midge larvae
These are all tolerant
This would indicate that the water quality is poor.
Macro-invertebrates

17. The biggest surprise for me was that I cultured e coli in Lacamas Lake twice of the three tests. I contacted the health department both times and they didn’t seem too concerned, also surprising.
I had no idea that Lacamas Lake was so polluted or that it was eutrophic.
It is good information for me to have when planning to go swimming.
Too bad the general public doesn’t have this information readily available. I was able to find out with some difficulty that Lacamas is only monitored once a month from May to December by volunteers. When looking for the results of this testing, I could only find a water study from 1997.
It would be helpful to the public to be able to access this data so they could make an informed choice about where to swim in the summer.
Summary

18. Is Lacamas Lake safe to swim? In my opintion no, except for dogs.