Moses Lake Watershed Awarded $100,000

A plan to improve the Moses Lake watershed was recently awarded $100,000 over two years by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Moses Lake Watershed Council Chairman Harold Crose said their WaterSMART proposal will use the money to complete a lake modeling project, a watershed analysis, and stand up the Watershed Council. The watershed analysis will, in part, help identify nutrients in the lake preferred by toxic blue/green algae.

"Phosphorus is what we're really looking for. What the originating sources of those are. Whether it comes from stormwater runoff, agriculture, septic tank systems, etc. We can go down the list." explained Crose, "There is a whole bunch of potential issues that we're trying to quantify and get a better understanding of our source."

The current funding is for Phase 1 of the project. Phase 2 would entail providing nearby farmers with best management practices for sediment and erosion control, creating a buffer system around the shore and ultimately treating the lake.