Bibliography on Vancouver Lake Watershed, including Burnt Bridge Creek, Flushing Channel, Lake River, and Salmon Creek |
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| Entire Bibliography (.doc format) | Summary | Title Page and Acknowledgements | Timeline | ||
| Vancouver Lake | Burnt Bridge Creek | Salmon Creek | Lake River | Related Links | |
| Bibliography 1900-50 | Bibliography 1951-60 | Bibliography 1961-70 | Bibliography 1971-80 | Bibliography 1981-90 | Bibliography 1991-Present |
Bibliography of Vancouver Lake watershed, including Burnt Bridge Creek, Flushing Channel, Lake River, and Salmon Creek
A history of restoration efforts for Vancouver Lake
Port
of Vancouver. 1984. Vancouver Lake Restoration: Project Summary and Maintenance
& Operations Handbook.
The Vancouver Lake restoration project is a three-point program to modify Vancouver Lake and its drainage in order to provide improved water quality in Vancouver Lake. The three parts of the program include:
1. Flush the lake with relatively clean Columbia River water.
2. Dredge the lake to provide for distribution of flushing and dilution water.
3. Control the pollution entering the lake.
The recently complete construction project addressed the first two goals. The third goal is being addressed under the Clark County 208 Comprehensive Paln.
Prior to the project, Vancouver Lake was dying as the result of both natural and man made causes. A number of planning efforts took place over several years which concluded that the program enumerated above held the means to reverse this trend.
The construction project was completed in June of 1983. Since that time, many of the anticipated benefits from the project have been realized. The water quality of the lake has improved, and its use as a recreational amenity has significantly increased. Observations indicate a greatly inreased use of the lake for such activities as swimming, fishing, and sailing since the restoration. It was understood that the project would not produce crystal-clear water, however; Vancouver Lake's ultimate water quality will reach a level intermediate between its condition prior to the restoration project and the water quality of the Columbia River.
The third activity in the restoration plan, control of pollution entering the lake, is still under way. The Port of Vancouver will continue to support implementation of the 208 plan by City, County, State, and special-purpose agencies. Activities in this plan that need continued attention include eliminating point-source inputs of pollutants into Burnt Bridge Creek, Salmon Creek, Lake River, and the Columbia River. Also needed are efforts to control non-point-source pollutants from agricultural, industrial, and residential activities in the area surrounding the lake. In addition, the Port will continue to support activities that reduce turbidity in the lake to maintain water quality as high as possible by avoiding activities such as boat racing or water skiing that would stir up deposited lake bottom sediment. Efforts to monitor water quality, fisheries and sedimentation will continue over time as part of the maintenance and operations program so as to determine the appropriateness and frequency of maintenance activities.
The construction project consisted of two major portions. The first was building the flushing channel. This was an unlined channel-and-culvert system thta now delivers Columbia River water to Vancouver Lake for flushing and dilution. The channel was constructed between the Columbia River near Blue Rock Landing and the southwest portion of Vancouver Lake. The channel has a bottom width of 100 feet and three-to-one (horizontal-to-vertical) side slopes. Two seven-foot diameter concrete culverts some 500 feet long, with a gate-well structure containing flap and sluice gates, carry flushing water udner the transportation corridor at the lake end of the flushing channel. Dredged material from the channel was pumped to disposal areas adjacent to the channel. Land-based excavation equipment was utilized above water level, and hydraulic dredge equipment below the water level.
The second major portion of the restoration project was in-lake dredging. Over eight million cubic yards of material was dredged from the lake bottom and deposited in seven prepared disposal sites near the lake shore. A thirty-inch hydraulic suction dredge performed the dredging. Sediment traps were also dredged in the Columbia River at the mouth of the flushing channel, in Vancouver Lake adjacent to the discharge end of the flushing channel, and in Vancouver Lake adjacent to the Lake River tributary. An island was created in the northeast portion of the lake using dredge-spoil material.
Before, during, and after the construction project, a number of activities were conducted to comply with conditions specified by the funding agencies. These activities included water quality monitoring, studies of flushing and sedimentation characteristics of the hydrological system, a study of fisheries resources in the area, and investigation of archeological resources impacted by the project. In general, the water quality monitoring efforts determined that anticipated improvements in the quality of Vancouver Lake waters were realistic. Sedimentation resulting from the alteration in water flows is manageable and is provided for in the long-term Maintenance and Operations Plan. The project does not appear to have affected migratory fish runs, and it has provided an improved habitat for migratory and native game fish species. The archeological field investigations added to the available data on prehistoric and historic human settlement in the Lower Columbia Valley.
The construction project provided facilities that require little maintenance. The maintenance procedures that are required are described in Section IV., Maintenance and Operations Instructions. These activities include maintenance dredging as well as a schedule for the minor periodic monitoring and care of the flushing channel facilities. The normal annual maintenance and operations costs are estimated to be $5,400. In addition, maintenance dredging on a four-to-five year frequency is estimated at $90,000; bringing the total average annual budget requirement to $23,400.
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Last modified:
April 27, 2010
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