Lakes Descriptions and Data
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Glossary
Steel Lake
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Welcome
Wilderness
Yellow
Watershed Area
254 acres
Lake surface area
46 acres
Maximum depth
24 feet
Mean depth
Not Available
Public Park
Yes
Boat Ramp
Yes, no gas engines
Fish Present
stocked rainbow
Volunteer monitoring began at Steel Lake in the 1980s and continued through 2004, when it was discontinued, with a data gap only between 1991-1993. The data indicate this city lake (Federal Way) is relatively low in primary productivity (low mesotrophic) with very good water quality. Productivity may be decreasing slowly over time.
Profile data indicated that thermal stratification may be unstable through summer, but the sediments do release a small amount of phosphorus into the deep water. Nitrogen to phosphorus ratios were generally above 20:1 through the summer, which favors other species of algae over bluegreens, but the ratio was closer to 20:1 in the fall.
Steel Lake has a public access boat launch, and the lake has been treated for a Eurasian milfoil several times, with a long-term plan adopted for control, including funding through the formation of a Lake Management District.
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This bathymetric map shows contour lines of equal depth, similar to a topographic map would for mountains and valleys
This map shows the area of the watershed relative to the area of the lake. Generally speaking, the larger a watershed is relative to a lake, the greater the influence land use practices on lake water quality
Click image to enlarge
Back to top View or Download Data Use this tool to view or download data from the lake in tabular format. You can
define date ranges and select which parameters to view or download. Chart Data Use the charting tool to look at graphs showing single parameters for a single
water year at a time. Five year water quality trends
A common method of tracking water quality trends in lakes is by calculating
the “trophic state index” (TSI) (Carlson, 1977). TSI indicators predict the biological
productivity of the lake based on water clarity (Secchi) and concentrations of total
phosphorus (TP) and chlorophyll a (Chlor).
The average of these three TSI indicators during the growing season can be used
to place lakes in one of three broad categories:
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