SNOHOMISH, Wash. — There is a grassroots effort in Snohomish to bring more consistent water testing to Blackmans Lake.
The Sno-King Watershed Council, a non-profit organization that watches the water, says the physical and chemical results for the lake are within normal limits, but there are variables they are not measuring.
Now there's a new effort, launched by the Friends of Blackmans Lake, to build a better database of information.
Kay Ditzenberger is with Friends of Blackmans Lake. She can see the lake from her backyard.
"I mean sunsets and thousands of birds that migrate in and out and watching the colors and the shapes and the sizes of the clouds, it is so beautiful," said Ditzenberger.
However, some of what she sees concerns her.
"I can go down sometimes, and I can see huge, bright green, fluorescent, turbid swirls that are just massive in the lake. Then it will clear. We were wondering what's going on there," she said.
Ditzenberger is not alone. Her neighbors had questions too.
"So, therefore, the Friends of Blackmans Lake were formed to say, OK, let's do regular testing, let's have some consistent parameters," said Ditzenberger.
To do that, community members got involved. Bob Roush with Snohomish Sportsman Association worked alongside Snohomish High School science teacher, Louis Boggeri.
"We decided that we need to get the kids out there; get them some real-world, practical experience," Boggeri said.
A group of students, who are also members of the Junior Sportsman Association, wanted to be a part of the project. They received training on how to test the water from the Sno-King Watershed Council. They also used the lessons learned in Mr. Boggeri's science class.
The students repeatedly tested the lake in three locations, and Hill Park is where they found a problem.
"For certain tests, like E. coli, it's bad news," said sophomore David Rossall.
The students presented their findings at a meeting Monday night.
"The average is not good, so something needs to change at Hill Park," one student said.
Ditzenberger said the mission of Friends of Blackmans Lake is to continue to support the testing, report the results, and discuss what to do about it as a community.
"As growth happens in Snohomish County, we want to really be vigilant about protecting the lake and make everyone aware of how beautiful it is. We want it to stay that way," said Ditzenberger.