Letter: County should take action on Lone Lake algae issue

Published 1:30 am Saturday, January 10, 2026

Editor,

We were disappointed to read in the Dec. 13 issue of the South Whidbey Record and News-Times that the county will not submit a proposal to the Department of Ecology for a treatment to address the toxic algae problems in Lone Lake. Specifically, we were surprised to read that county staff believes additional monitoring is needed to justify and plan for future treatment.

In 2020, intensive year-long collection of hydrologic monitoring and nutrient sampling was conducted in the lake and its tributaries by an environmental consulting firm. This in-depth analysis resulted in the 62-page Lone Lake Algae Management Plan which clearly concluded the largest source of nutrients fueling toxic algae blooms in the summer is the sediments in the lake. The obvious solution, then and now, is to prevent the release of nutrients from the sediment into the water, which is the treatment recently proposed to the county.

We have had multiple discussions with county staff about the problem and the range of actions in the plan to address it. Yet nothing has been done and serious threats to human and animal health from Lone Lake’s toxic water continue. As noted in the Dec. 13 article, toxins have been detected 9,000 times the amount safely allowed under state recreational guidelines. Lone Lake has a very small infestation of aquatic weeds that will require minimal effort to control. Given the county’s decision to focus on weeds, we wrote a letter of support for the grant application, however, our toxic algae problem is much more serious and presents a much greater risk to people, pets and wildlife. There is a clear plan to deal with this threat based on good science. One of county government’s roles is to protect public health and it should act to protect our community, its many visitors, and pets and wildlife from a known and treatable poison.

Leslie Thurston, President

Lone Lake Stewards