Summit Lake residents warned not to drink water due to toxic algae concerns

SUMMIT LAKE — The exasperation in their voices indicated how hard the news is to swallow.

“What happened?” asked Anne Vanderbeek, a 23-year Summit Lake resident. “Did we not get to the level where everyone has to freak out yet?”

The water in Summit Lake has been deemed too toxic to drink, cook, bathe in or even swim in.

“How many dogs and animals have we found dead along the lake?” asked Bill Kelley, whose family has owned a cabin on Summit Lake since 1970. “I mean with the way you guys are talking about this, I would think it seems like mass hysteria.”

Some residents accused Thurston County Health of making too much of it. They argue this is essentially a normal bloom of algae on their picturesque lake that will dissipate with time.

“I’ve lived on this lake since 1942,” Floyd Japhet told the standing-room-only crowd. “And I’ll tell you, this thing that’s happening right now has happened every year since then. It’s a natural thing.”

But Schelli Slaughter, Thurston County Public Health Director, said this year is unusual.

“We’re shocked ourselves to see the levels that high since we have never seen that in the history of Thurston County,” Slaughter said.

How high? Health department tests show nearly 360 times what is considered safe.

“So it is very dangerous,” Slaughter said. “It is something to take very serious. We want to be better safe than sorry especially because this is where everyone is drinking.”

“How do you treat it?” Slaughter was asked.

“We really can’t,” she said. “It’s a naturally occurring phenomenon. And there’s really nothing that can be done at this point other than wait and see and keep testing.”

There is some good news. Tests show the toxins are going down. But they are still high. Sixty-nine times higher than is considered safe.

Thurston County is providing clean water for residents and continuing to test until Summit Lake is safe again.