Most people probably do not put much thought into the water quality of the streams in Lake Forest Park.
For some, however, it is only natural.
They are called the Lake Forest Park StreamKeepers, a small group of volunteers who devote one morning every three months to monitoring the condition of the streams in Lake Forest Park.
“The value to our city is that we have a long history of tracking the quality of our water,” said Don Fiene, who co-chairs the StreamKeepers with Mark Phillips. “Urban areas do have a responsibility to protect their sensitive areas that includes wetlands and streams.”
The city of Lake Forest Park funds StreamKeepers, which was founded about 12 years ago. The data they collect is supplied to the city’s Environmental Quality Commission.
A sewage leak in a stream in Mountlake Terrace in November caused much public attention, but Fiene and Phillips say that the damage caused was minor.
The real danger to the streams comes on a more regular basis.
“The history of our two streams has been that (they) have slowly degraded over time due to urban development,” said Fiene.
The group measures the water for the ph factor, the level of dissolved oxygen and the turbidity. They also plan on expanding their testing to include a new procedure that would take an inventory of the macroinvertebrates in the streams.
“The other monitoring we did was chemical. This will be a bit different,” said Phillips, explaining the relevance of counting the number of living creatures in the streams. “Some creatures can cope well with pollution. If you find a lot of those it tends to be a problem.”
The group, which is one of many stream-keeping organizations across the country, has also periodically helped with various educational programs, though monitoring the streams is their primary focus.
“A lot of people ask ‘Why is it important to protect the streams? Why is it important to protect the salmon and try to bring the salmon back?’” said Fiene. “I think if you look at it in depth, human beings get a lot of pleasure and it adds quite a bit to our lives to have nice streams, to have parks, to have salmon.”
For more information or to volunteer, contact the city of Lake Forest Park at 206-368-5440.
Julia Faye Whitehead is a student in the UW Department of Communication News Lab.
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