Work on the Moses Lake Phosphorus Mitigation Project is set to resume this spring, with the second round of lake treatment scheduled to begin on April 7, 2025. This effort will utilize the seven remaining totes of EutroSORB WC from the initial treatment conducted last year.

(Lake treatment underway during the 2024 Moses Lake Phosphorus Mitigation Project)

This year’s treatment will be a continuation of last year’s treatment on Rocky Ford Creek, an inlet to the Rocky Ford arm of Moses Lake. EutroSORB WC will be held in a secure trailer with security measures to reduce tampering. This increased security is in response to vandalism at the application site during last year’s treatment efforts.

The first application in 2024 successfully reduced phosphorus levels in Moses Lake. Four months after treatment, releasable phosphorus in sediment had decreased, and total phosphorus levels in surface and bottom waters were lower in 2024 compared to 2023. The most significant reductions were observed in bottom waters.

The success of this project is made possible through the collaboration and funding support of our valued project partners: USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Aquatechnex, Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District, EutroPHIX, and Rep. Dan Newhouse who included CBCD's Community Project Funding Request in H.R. 8239, part of the FY2023 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

(Left to right: Ron Sawyer, CBCD’s Conservation Director, Yazmin Mejia, CBCD’s Heritage Garden Program Coordinator, and Ryan Van Goethem, Limnologist & Project Lead at EutroPHIX at the lake treatment site in 2024)

EutroPHIX will be responsible for applying the totes of EutroSORB WC to the lake, ensuring proper implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the treatment process. For more information, please contact Ron Sawyer, CBCD Conservation Director at ronnie-sawyer@columbiabasincd.org.