Capitol Lake
Encyclopedia
Capitol Lake is a 3 kilometer long, 260 acres (1.1 km²) artificial lake
at the mouth of Deschutes River
in Tumwater
/Olympia, Washington
. The Olympia Brewery
sits on Capitol Lake in Tumwater
, just downstream from where the Tumwater Falls
meet the lake. The Washington State Department of General Administration manages the lake, as part of The Washington State Capitol
Campus.
was a productive shellfish gathering area for native peoples. After settlement in the mid-19th century, the basin received much of the wastewater and other effluent outflow from "uptown" Olympia. In the 1890s the Northern Pacific Railroad located a station and switching yard on the eastern shore of the basin.
The first proposal for creating Capitol Lake came when Leopold Schmidt of the Olympia Brewing Company proposed in 1895 to " mak(e) a fresh water lake of it by building a dam and locks near the Westside (Olympia) bridge."
In 1911 the State Capitol Commission held a nationwide competition for the design of the State Capitol Campus. The winning architects, Wilder and White, submitted a revolutionary City Beautiful Movement and American Renaissance plan which included creating a body of water to reflect the Capitol Group of buildings on the bluff by installing a tidelock at the mouth of the Deschutes River.
A more limited lake was also part of the original landscape design by John Olmsted
to reflect the Washington State Capitol building
on Puget Sound
. The lake as envisioned by Olmsted would have been created with a north to south running berm, as opposed to a east to west running damn.
In 1915, the State Capitol Commission rejected a plan by former Olympia Mayor and state legislator P.H. Carlyon to replace Olympia's bridge to the westside with a dam and locks. That plan would have created a lake very much like the present Capitol Lake. Because of opposition from upriver Tumwater businesses, such as the Olympia Brewing Company and the Olympia Power and Light Company, that plan was not approved.
The Capitol Group of buildings was constructed over several years from 1913 to 1940, and the State Capitol Committee then turned to the task of creating the Wilder and White reflecting Capitol Lake. In 1937 the state began purchasing the privately owned tidelands around the Capitol Campus. In 1941, opposition from Tumwater was finally overcome during a special town meeting. In 1947, due in large part by intense lobbying by Thurston County legislators, the state legislature approved funding for the construction of the dam in order to create Capitol Lake.
Capitol Lake was finally created in 1951 when the dam was completed consistent with the Wilder and White plan. This allowed for the retention of the outflow from the Deschutes River
to cover the tide flats. Capitol Lake is a visual and recreational amenity and an appropriate setting for the acropolis of the Capitol Group which the Lake handsomely supports and reflects. Johnson, Norman J., "Washington's Audacious State Capitol and Its Builders", Seattle and London, University of Washington Press (1988).
In the 1990s and 2000s the North Capitol Campus Heritage Park was created with the Arc of Statehood from the Western Washington Inlet to the Eastern Washington Butte along the eastern edge of Capitol Lake and the North Campus trail and Law Enforcement Memorial with views across Capitol Lake to the borrowed landscapes of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.
The February, 2001 Nisqually Earthquake
did considerable damage to Deschutes Parkway on the west side of the lake. Capital Lakefair
, centered on the lake, is held annually in July. The trail around the lake is 1.5 miles long.
Because of a high rate of silt
ation, the lake has been dredged periodically in the past to keep it from filling in. After a twenty-five year hiatus, in 2011 the State Legislature appropriated $200,000 in order to seek permits to reimplement maintenance dredging in order to retain and improve Capitol Lake as part of the historic Wilder and White design of the State Capitol Campus during its centennial year.
ation, the lake was dredged periodically in the past to keep it from filling in, a classic case of eutrophication
. Additionally, there is a milfoil
infestation and poor water quality (it is closed to swimmers due to unsafe levels of E. coli
). Since 2009 There has been evidence of New Zealand mudsnail infestation. There has been no adequate control and consequently the lake is rimmed with fencing and signage to keep the public away. However, it is known that the mudsnail (size of a grain of rice when mature) can "hitchhike" on water birds and thus can spread without human intervention.
The Department of General Administration, other state and local agencies, and the Squaxin Island Tribe
participated in a study entitled "The Capitol Lake Adaptive Management Plan" or "CLAMP" to determine the future of the lake. For 10 Years the CLAMP met, discussing alternative solutions to the issues of the lake. The CLAMP was dissolved due to budget issues, but not before recommending that the best solution to the lake problems is to remove the dam and restore the estuary.
There are two groups in Olympia that are actively involved in public education on the lake. One group is known as CLIPA, "Capital Lake Improvement and Protection Association," while the other group, known as DERT, or "Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team," supports dam removal and restoration of the free flowing waters of the Deschutes.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
at the mouth of Deschutes River
Deschutes River (Washington)
The Deschutes River is a -long river in Washington, United States. Its source is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Lewis County, and it empties into Budd Inlet of Puget Sound at Olympia in Thurston County...
in Tumwater
Tumwater, Washington
Tumwater is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It lies near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound. The population was 17,371 at the 2010 census...
/Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
. The Olympia Brewery
Olympia Brewery
The Olympia Brewery brewhouse is at the base of the Tumwater Falls in Tumwater, Washington. The original buildings, constructed in 1896 and reconstructed in 1906, were once the manufacturing site for Olympia Beer. They have long served as a landmark for local residents and drivers along Interstate...
sits on Capitol Lake in Tumwater
Tumwater, Washington
Tumwater is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It lies near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound. The population was 17,371 at the 2010 census...
, just downstream from where the Tumwater Falls
Tumwater Falls
Tumwater Falls are a series of cascades on the Deschutes River in Tumwater, Washington, United States, near where the river empties into Budd Inlet, a southerly arm of Puget Sound in Olympia.-History:...
meet the lake. The Washington State Department of General Administration manages the lake, as part of The Washington State Capitol
Washington State Capitol
The Washington State Capitol or Legislative Building in Olympia is the home of the government of the state of Washington. It contains chambers for the Washington State Legislature and offices for the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and treasurer and is part of a campus consisting...
Campus.
History
Prior to American settlement, the tidal basin at the southern tip of Budd InletBudd Inlet
Budd Inlet is the southernmost arm of Puget Sound. The city of Olympia, Washington is located at the southern end of Budd Inlet. A deepwater shipping channel has been dredged providing deep water access to the Port of Olympia which is from Tacoma and from Seattle.Budd Inlet was named by Charles...
was a productive shellfish gathering area for native peoples. After settlement in the mid-19th century, the basin received much of the wastewater and other effluent outflow from "uptown" Olympia. In the 1890s the Northern Pacific Railroad located a station and switching yard on the eastern shore of the basin.
The first proposal for creating Capitol Lake came when Leopold Schmidt of the Olympia Brewing Company proposed in 1895 to " mak(e) a fresh water lake of it by building a dam and locks near the Westside (Olympia) bridge."
In 1911 the State Capitol Commission held a nationwide competition for the design of the State Capitol Campus. The winning architects, Wilder and White, submitted a revolutionary City Beautiful Movement and American Renaissance plan which included creating a body of water to reflect the Capitol Group of buildings on the bluff by installing a tidelock at the mouth of the Deschutes River.
A more limited lake was also part of the original landscape design by John Olmsted
John Charles Olmsted
John Charles Olmsted , the nephew and adopted son of Frederick Law Olmsted, was an American landscape architect. With his brother, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., he founded Olmsted Brothers, a landscape design firm in Brookline, Massachusetts. The firm is famous for designing many urban parks,...
to reflect the Washington State Capitol building
Washington State Capitol
The Washington State Capitol or Legislative Building in Olympia is the home of the government of the state of Washington. It contains chambers for the Washington State Legislature and offices for the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and treasurer and is part of a campus consisting...
on Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
. The lake as envisioned by Olmsted would have been created with a north to south running berm, as opposed to a east to west running damn.
In 1915, the State Capitol Commission rejected a plan by former Olympia Mayor and state legislator P.H. Carlyon to replace Olympia's bridge to the westside with a dam and locks. That plan would have created a lake very much like the present Capitol Lake. Because of opposition from upriver Tumwater businesses, such as the Olympia Brewing Company and the Olympia Power and Light Company, that plan was not approved.
The Capitol Group of buildings was constructed over several years from 1913 to 1940, and the State Capitol Committee then turned to the task of creating the Wilder and White reflecting Capitol Lake. In 1937 the state began purchasing the privately owned tidelands around the Capitol Campus. In 1941, opposition from Tumwater was finally overcome during a special town meeting. In 1947, due in large part by intense lobbying by Thurston County legislators, the state legislature approved funding for the construction of the dam in order to create Capitol Lake.
Capitol Lake was finally created in 1951 when the dam was completed consistent with the Wilder and White plan. This allowed for the retention of the outflow from the Deschutes River
Deschutes River (Washington)
The Deschutes River is a -long river in Washington, United States. Its source is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Lewis County, and it empties into Budd Inlet of Puget Sound at Olympia in Thurston County...
to cover the tide flats. Capitol Lake is a visual and recreational amenity and an appropriate setting for the acropolis of the Capitol Group which the Lake handsomely supports and reflects. Johnson, Norman J., "Washington's Audacious State Capitol and Its Builders", Seattle and London, University of Washington Press (1988).
The February, 2001 Nisqually Earthquake
Nisqually earthquake
The Nisqually earthquake was an intraslab earthquake, occurring at 10:54 a.m. PST . on February 28, 2001, and was one of the largest recorded earthquakes in Washington state history. The quake measured 6.8 on the MMS and lasted approximately 45 seconds. The epicenter of the earthquake was Anderson...
did considerable damage to Deschutes Parkway on the west side of the lake. Capital Lakefair
LakeFair
Lakefair is an annual five day fair that has existed in Olympia, Washington, United States for over fifty years.Lakefair has many events including a midway of rides and games on the shore of Capitol Lake, As well as food vendors and local booths representing many groups, organizations and companies...
, centered on the lake, is held annually in July. The trail around the lake is 1.5 miles long.
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
ation, the lake has been dredged periodically in the past to keep it from filling in. After a twenty-five year hiatus, in 2011 the State Legislature appropriated $200,000 in order to seek permits to reimplement maintenance dredging in order to retain and improve Capitol Lake as part of the historic Wilder and White design of the State Capitol Campus during its centennial year.
Controversy
Controversy surrounds Capitol Lake because it replaced an estuary. Because of a high rate of siltSilt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
ation, the lake was dredged periodically in the past to keep it from filling in, a classic case of eutrophication
Eutrophication
Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication, is the movement of a body of water′s trophic status in the direction of increasing plant biomass, by the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system...
. Additionally, there is a milfoil
Milfoil
Milfoil can refer to:*The flowering terrestrial plant yarrow *The aquatic plants in Genus Myriophyllum...
infestation and poor water quality (it is closed to swimmers due to unsafe levels of E. coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
). Since 2009 There has been evidence of New Zealand mudsnail infestation. There has been no adequate control and consequently the lake is rimmed with fencing and signage to keep the public away. However, it is known that the mudsnail (size of a grain of rice when mature) can "hitchhike" on water birds and thus can spread without human intervention.
The Department of General Administration, other state and local agencies, and the Squaxin Island Tribe
Squaxin Island Tribe
The Squaxin Island Tribe is a Native American tribal government in western Washington state in the United States. The Squaxin Island Tribe is made up of several Lushootseed clans: the Noo-Seh-Chatl, Steh-Chass, Squi-Aitl, T'Peeksin, Sa-Heh-Wa-Mish, Squawksin, and S'Hotle-Ma-Mish...
participated in a study entitled "The Capitol Lake Adaptive Management Plan" or "CLAMP" to determine the future of the lake. For 10 Years the CLAMP met, discussing alternative solutions to the issues of the lake. The CLAMP was dissolved due to budget issues, but not before recommending that the best solution to the lake problems is to remove the dam and restore the estuary.
There are two groups in Olympia that are actively involved in public education on the lake. One group is known as CLIPA, "Capital Lake Improvement and Protection Association," while the other group, known as DERT, or "Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team," supports dam removal and restoration of the free flowing waters of the Deschutes.