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Spring is literally blooming with exciting things for Cascade.
Cascade is beginning its first year of operating Lake Tapps, and it is an honor, a privilege --- and often a challenge. You will see throughout this newsletter the important work we are doing with Lake Tapps and the community.
Lake Levels
Lake Tapps today is full, beautiful and waiting for recreation enthusiasts to enjoy! After some initial concerns that Mother Nature was not very plentiful with moisture as we set out to refill the lake, She came through – with some help from our scientists and technicians – to get lake levels up to full recreational levels before the beginning of May. While the lake was drawn down in the winter to allow for dike repair, dock maintenance and milfoil control, the refill was more difficult than in the past. Read Full Story >
Lloyd Warren
Chair of the Board
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 Lake Tapps is infested with invasive Eurasian milfoil and neighbors raised concerns. Cascade listened and is undertaking an aggressive multiyear effort to eradicate it. Cascade has hired an environmental consultant, Tetra Tech, to research the current conditions and make recommendations to the community and Cascade. On March 31, over 120 community members came to the first of three public meetings on milfoil hosted by Cascade. At this meeting, Tetra Tech talked about different eradication strategies and the pros and cons of each, and introduced the plan and general timeline for implementation. Community members had lots of questions and were eager to share their concerns and learn more. Read Full Story >
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NATURAL YARD CARE
Natural yard care is an important part of keeping Lake Tapps clean and will support efforts to eradicate milfoil. At community meetings, homeowners asked Cascade to present an environmentally friendly and acceptable set of yard care tips, to-dos and best practices so homeowners and visitors can help keep Lake Tapps clean. "We're working on getting this information to the community," says Elaine Kraft, Intergovernmental and Communications Director. "We're putting together a community outreach effort to determine what neighbors want in terms of education, training and tips and Cascade will craft a special Lake Tapps program. Keep tuned for more details. And, if you'd like to be involved in the planning or just give us some input, let us hear from you at contact@cascadewater.org."
 LAKE TAPPS BOATING SAFETY
Boating season is almost upon us, and, as the new owners of Lake Tapps, Cascade wants everyone to be safe. Although the responsibility of patrolling and managing the recreational aspects of Lake Tapps falls under the jurisdiction of the Pierce County Sheriff, responsible boating by all ensures everyone can enjoy this regional gem safely.
Helpful Boating Safety links:
BoatWashington
Washington State Parks Boating Program
Pierce County Parks Rules and Regulations
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 On May 6th the Cascade Land Conservancy, the largest land conservation, stewardship and community building organization in Washington State, awarded Cascade and other partners the Cascade Agenda Leadership Award at its annual breakfast.
More than 2,000 key leaders and influential stakeholders recognized Cascade, the City of Redmond, King County, the Port of Seattle, Puget Sound Energy and Sound Transit for their collective efforts in securing the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail corridor and keeping it in public use.
The Award celebrates the role of community leaders in linking great communities, a healthy environment and a strong economy. See the Seattle Times mention of this and other CLC awards in its May 7 editorial here.
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Chair
Lloyd Warren, Commissioner, Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District
Vice Chair
John Marchione, Mayor, City of Redmond
Secretary-Treasurer
Jim Haggerton, Mayor, City of Tukwila
Directors
Grant Degginger, Bellevue City Councilmember, Chair, Public Affairs Committee
Penny Sweet, Deputy Mayor, City of Kirkland
John Traeger, President, Issaquah City Council
David Knight, Covington Water District Commissioner, Chair, Resource Management Committee
Jon Ault, President, Skyway Water and Sewer District
Alternate Board Members
Don Davidson, Mayor, City of Bellevue
Doreen Marchione, Kirkland City Councilmember
Mark Mullett, Issaquah City Councilmember
Hank Margeson, Redmond City Councilmember
Verna Seal, Tukwila City Councilmember
Joyce Clark, Skyway Water and Sewer District
Robert Brady, Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District
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Cascade Rain Sensor Installation Program
Mike Brent,
Water Resource Manager
Cascade recently launched a new program in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities to encourage customers to install rain sensors on their irrigation systems. A rain sensor is an irrigation system component, typically the size of a small microphone or salt shaker that attaches to a house or other structure and is exposed to the elements. When it rains, the rain sensor acts as a circuit breaker, interrupting the normal program of the irrigation controller. The irrigation system will remain in a standby mode until the rain sensor dries out, at which point the controller automatically returns to its normal programmed cycle. By shutting off the irrigation system on rainy days, a homeowner can reduce the total amount of irrigation by four percent or more during the irrigation season.
A customer may contact any irrigation vendor who is participating in the program and schedule a rain sensor installation. Cascade pays for the rain sensor and the first $50 towards the installation cost. The customer pays the sales tax and any installation charges over $50. Unlike typical rebate programs, there is no application for the customer and no pre-approval, thus staff administrative time is reduced and the process is generally more streamlined. Several Cascade customers have already contacted participating vendors and begun scheduling installations. Cascade will evaluate the program through site inspections and customer surveys.
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Lake Tapps
Water Right Update
Cascade submitted its draft environmental impact statement to The Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) for Lake Tapps, and sought public comment through May 21. DOE has reviewed Cascade's application for water rights and issued its Report of Examination (ROE). The ROE can be found here > |
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Cascade Water Alliance
11400 SE 8th Street
Suite 440
Bellevue, WA 98004
425.453.0930 Phone
Email > |
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