Olympia City Council to State: Bring back the Estuary

Formal vote on the issue expected on Aug. 24

Posted

The Olympia City Council shared their support for the Estuary Alternative which suggests the removal of the 5th Avenue Dam during the regular city council meeting on Tuesday, August 10.

In a draft letter, the council responded to the different alternatives presented by the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES) for the Capitol Lake - Deschutes Estuary Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Capitol Lake alternatives

Based on their study, the DES provided four alternatives for the future of Capitol Lake which include: 

  • No-Action Alternative- there would be no changes made to Capitol Lake.
  • Managed Lake Alternative- the option provides the maintenance of the 5th Avenue Dam.
  • Estuary Alternative- the option suggests the removal of the 5th Avenue Dam to give way for a 500 ft. wide opening. This would allow the saltwater to come in and help the waterbody to return to its normal brackish state.
  • Hybrid Alternative- just like the previous alternative, this option also suggests the removal of the 5th Avenue Dam and the construction of a 2,600 ft. wall which would serve as a saltwater reflecting pool.

Draft response

Olympia Water Resources Director Eric Christensen explained the reason why the city supported the Estuary Alternative.

He shared that the Estuary Alternative would be more beneficial for the environment since it provides an opportunity to restore the river back to its natural estuarine habitat. In addition, it would also improve the water quality in the Budd Inlet. The alternative would also benefit the anadromous fish and other marine species and help in controlling invasive species in the area.

Aside from its environmental benefits, Christensen noted that the Estuary Alternative is also beneficial to the tribal population. He noted that the option would honor the traditional cultural and spiritual values of the land and waters in the Budd Inlet.

The letter reads, “Given the above findings, the Olympia City Council requests that the Estuary Alternative be selected as the only clear Preferred Alternative.”

Council’s comments

Councilmembers also shared their comments regarding the future of the Capitol Lake. “There’s no reason that we should be neutral,” Councilmember Dani Madrone said. She continued, “the state needs to move forward and take leadership on it, and to have a whole agency dedicated to restoring Puget Sound when at the doorstep of the state we have a damned river… it's hypocrisy.”

“I am obviously all for science as a scientist, I am also financially concerned and when you look at these two put together- there’s really no other option,” Councilmember Lisa Parshley added.

While some council members wanted to vote for the approval of the draft EIS response, Olympia Mayor Cheryl Shelby claimed that they still needed to make some changes to the statement and would likely vote on the approval of the final letter during the next council meeting on Tuesday, August 24.

The city is one of several stakeholders offering comment on the future of Capitol Lake-Deschutes Estuary. The final decision rests with the Department of Enterprise Services, according to several sources.

Comments

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  • DanaMadsen

    I really don't get the local obsession with converting Capitol Lake to a mudflat. After reading the EIS I discovered that the document was written with rose colored glasses with glossy color pictures of the Managed Lake and the Modified Lake alternatives but strangely there were no pictures of the estuary alternative. They could easily have zipped out to Mud Bay and taken some glossy pictures of the estuary at low tide to let folks know what they were signing up for....but didn't apparently want anyone to know what it would really look (and smell) like. What a bad idea!

    Friday, August 13, 2021 Report this

  • WilliamPorter

    Dana - I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you don't spend a lot of time outside? Never worked on a waterfront? Never cared about a shoreline except how it looked from behind your picture windows? I'm sure your 'opinions' about estuarine ecosystems are very well-founded - I bet you keep up with all the semi-haline and anadromous fish research - but maybe these thoughts would be better shared on a rigorous, impartial platform like Facebook?

    Sunday, August 15, 2021 Report this