Round Lake (Washington)
Encyclopedia
Round Lake is a small lake
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,...

 in Camas, Washington
Camas, Washington
Camas is a city in Clark County, Washington, with a population of 19,355 at the 2010 census. Officially incorporated on June 18, 1906, the city is named after the camas lily, a plant with an onion-like bulb prized by Native Americans. At the west end of downtown Camas is a large Georgia-Pacific...

, USA. The lake is connected at its north-west tip to Lacamas Lake
Lacamas Lake
Lacamas Lake is a small lake in Clark County, Washington. It is a popular place to fish and water ski for locals from Vancouver, Camas and Washougal. In the 1990s many high tech manufacturing plants and expensive housing developments began to appear in the area around the lake. The lake is very...

. Lacamas Park includes access to Round Lake for fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, picnic
Picnic
In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...

ing, grilling
Grilling
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...

, and jogging
Jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.-Definition:...

. The park includes a trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

 that goes entirely around Round Lake, and across the approximately 75 feet (22.9 m) dam that controls the level of Lacamas Lake
Lacamas Lake
Lacamas Lake is a small lake in Clark County, Washington. It is a popular place to fish and water ski for locals from Vancouver, Camas and Washougal. In the 1990s many high tech manufacturing plants and expensive housing developments began to appear in the area around the lake. The lake is very...

 and Round Lake
Round Lake
-Communities:United States* Round Lake, Illinois, a village* Round Lake, Minnesota, a city* Round Lake, New York, a village* Round Lake, Wisconsin, a town-Lakes:Canada* Round Lake , near Pembroke* Round Lake United States...

.

Water quality

Lacamas Park also contains a small information center that describes the deteriorating water quality
Water quality
Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...

 in both Lacamas Lake and Round Lake. According to the signs present, precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

 captured over 43,000 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s (174 km²) forms the Lacamas Creek
Lacamas Creek
Lacamas Creek is located within Clark County, Washington, United States, and flows approximately 12.5 miles from headwaters near Camp Bonneville to Lacamas Lake and Round Lake in Camas, and eventually into the Washougal River. Interestingly, geologists have concluded that the creek used to flow...

 which flows into both Lacamas Lake
Lacamas Lake
Lacamas Lake is a small lake in Clark County, Washington. It is a popular place to fish and water ski for locals from Vancouver, Camas and Washougal. In the 1990s many high tech manufacturing plants and expensive housing developments began to appear in the area around the lake. The lake is very...

 and Round Lake. This water contains a higher than normal amount of pollutant
Pollutant
A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil, and is the cause of pollution.Three factors determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, its concentration and its persistence. Some pollutants are biodegradable and therefore will not persist in the environment in the...

s which are rapidly diminishing the water quality of both lakes.

In the past 5 years (counting backwards from 2006), this lake has been getting worse and worse. There are clean-up and other efforts to make the lake a better place, but when its drained for dam repairs it smells something like a mixture of dead rotting fish and other various pollutant smells.

Most of the pollutants that go into this lake and others around it come from affluent homes in Lacamas Shores, the power boats, and the nearby golf course which uses large amounts of fertilizer to keep the grass green.

External links

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