MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Currently the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) is in contract with AltaScience and Engineering, Inc. to conduct sediment sampling at public recreation sites around Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River (Idaho side).
This multi-year study (projected completion 2026) will provide data for developing a recreation site Risk Assessment indicating if key contaminants are present in beaches, nearshore sediments, and water of recreational areas in and around Coeur d’Alene Lake and if those contaminants are at levels harmful to public health.
Attend this upcoming meeting remote or in person to find out about the collection process and what sites are being sampled. it is a time to ask questions and afterwards pass along what you have learned to your friends and family.
PANHANDLE BASIN ADVISORY GROUP MEETING Thursday April 25th 9 AM PST
Citizens can tune-into this meeting remotely. The part of the agenda that covers the Risk Assessment is estimated to be around 10:10 AM. You can log-in at any point during the meeting to listen in.
WebEx Meeting: – Join on your computer, mobile app or room device. Join from the meeting link:
Meeting ID: 2630 925 4792
Passcode: bbPCF3SE2k3
Lake Health Cd’A Citizen’s Group
We are a group of citizens who value the water of Lake Coeur d’Alene and see it as a vital component of our economy and public health.
We have no affiliation with any organization or political party.
Our short history.
We started meeting in the summer of 2022 around the idea of a signature drive known as the “The Lake Health Acknowledgment”. This acknowledgment effort was a response to downward trending water quality data collected by both Idaho DEQ and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in a lake with 83 million metric tons of the mining industry’s heavy metals lining the lakebed. The “Lake Health Acknowledgment” was a request to community leaders to publicly acknowledge the deteriorating water quality of Lake Coeur d’Alene. We felt this was a necessary starting point for any cooperative remedial actions that followed.
Since the release of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study in late September, which indicated that water quality was trending upward in deeper areas, it has become evident that more data is needed to accurately estimate the lake’s total water quality. The in-shore bays, for example, where there is development, old septic systems, golf course runoff, etc. (places of phosphorous and nutrient loading) have not been studied.
For this reason, we have put a hold on collecting signatures for the acknowledgment with no plans to move forward until more monitoring data is synthesized.
Learn more about the results of the NAS study from the Sept. 30th Inlander Article Report: Lake Coeur d’Alene is getting healthier, but much more study is needed
Our Focus Moving Forward (Post NAS Report)
What we support
Moving forward we support efforts in our community that help new residents, locals, part-time residents, and visiting tourists engage more actively on the lake health issue.
A recent survey conducted by the Our Gem Collaborative showed only 28% of people surveyed were aware that CDA Lake is a part of the EPA Bunker Hill Superfund Site with no remediation activities in place.
This low percentage of awareness on such an important matter is a symptom of past leadership and business sweeping the issue under the rug. We encourage a more informed and active populace. As more people flock to our beautiful area we want to demonstrate a community that is pulling together to acknowledge the challenges of our mining legacy. With transparency, creative solutions, and a heart for place we enable the working-class citizens of Coeur d’Alene to become leaders in creating and upholding a culture of caring for our lake.
We support groups working toward a cleaner lake and an educated community.
While we do not affiliate with any one particular group, we recognize our combined efforts are stronger than individual agendas. Additionally, we support the Cd’A Tribe, State of Idaho DEQ, Federal Environmental Protection Agency, and the Coeur d’Alene Lake Advisory Committee (CLAC ) in prioritizing the following actions:
- Testing of shoreline sediment.
We are in support of regular and ongoing human health risk assessments of shoreline sediment at both the sandcastle building areas of summer water levels and also in the mud flats of low water winter levels. This gives an opportunity for the public to make educated decisions on beach visitation, timing, and frequency. Citizens have an opportunity to engage with this important process by participating in a 10-minute questionnaire developed by IDEQ. The information from the questionnaire will be used to assist in planning and prioritizing sediment sampling locations at public beaches (summer of 2024). Public Questionnaire The questionnaire will be open until August 31st, 2023, at 11:59 PM. - Monitoring in-shore bays.
Historically, only deep-water sites were being monitored. Without the in-shore bay data, we do not have a complete picture of the water quality. This monitoring is fundamental to gaining a more accurate understanding of big-picture water quality trends, impacts of a changing climate, and data that can inform policy decisions around industry and development surrounding our heavily contaminated and vulnerable lake. - St. Joe Watershed Nutrient Assessment
We support the study of the St. Joe Watershed to better quantify sources of nutrient loading in the St. Joe River and St. Maries Rivers, which currently provides approximately 45% of the phosphorus load to the lake. - Directing funds to improve outdated wastewater treatment plants in small communities.
The NAS committee pointed out that this is a low-hanging fruit when it comes to targeting nutrient reduction projects.
Our Approach:
In moving forward, the Lake Health Cd’A citizens group remains committed to keeping an open mind, learning more from ongoing monitoring data as it rolls out, and taking a positive approach to the lake health issue in a way that “calls in” our community leaders to prioritize public health over special interests when moving forward on lake health projects. We are not interested in “calling out” or placing blame. The last thing we need is more division in our community.
Citizen Responsibility
Stay Engaged by Tracking Water Quality Projects
Learn about all the projects recently funded (by taxpayer dollars) in the Lake Cd’A watershed by accessing the storyboard located on the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality website.
“It is difficult to motivate people when they cannot see nor feel threatened by the problem. We excel at responding to sudden visible threats, but the deterioration of the lake is a slow, invisible process. By the time it is visible and apparent to everyone, it may be too late. Once we damage this life-sustaining resource, we may not be able to get it back.”
Joe Morris, Coeur d’Alene Resident
Why it Matters to Stay Informed
Public Health Watch
Voting In Leaders Who Value Health over Profit
There are many unknowns as to what would ensue if 83 million metric tons of heavy metal-laden sediment became suspended in the water column of our lake. What is common knowledge is that lead poisoning is particularly insidious because the effects of lead poisoning can be subtle and indistinguishable from other common ailments.
Children are the most susceptible to lead poisoning because:
- Children are exposed to relatively greater quantities of lead per unit of body mass.
- The blood-brain barrier, which helps block the accumulation of lead in adult brains, is immature and less effective in children.
- Children are more likely to ingest soil, inhale dust particles, and consume water while recreating. Normal childhood behaviors like putting dust-contaminated objects, lead-enriched dirt, or lead-contaminated toys in their mouths increase the likelihood of incidental exposure.
The effects that manifest are tragic and well-documented over years of study (Needleman and Bellinger, 1991; Finkelstein et al., 1998; Lidsky and Schneider, 2003; Needleman, 2004).
For children, even very low levels of lead exposure can cause brain damage and/or intellectual disability, behavioral problems, hyperactivity, and developmental delays. Although the current lead blood level of concern for children is 10 ug/dL, recent studies indicate that there is no threshold level of safety and adverse effects of lead can occur at far lower levels.
It is our individual responsibility as citizens to track the actions and non-actions of our community leaders.
If we claim to be independent citizens, there is no organization that can do this for us. We must engage in the process.
Examples of what this looks like:
- Attend CLAC webinar meetings and don’t be afraid to ask questions during the meeting. Your questions will be addressed at the end.
- Sign up to receive County Commissioner meeting agendas. When a meeting involves matters of the Lake, attend in person or watch the meeting online while fixing dinner. Let your children see you being an engaged citizen.
- Send written comments to the Commissioners via e-mail.
- Spend your hard-earned dollar with only organizations and businesses that demonstrate value in supporting a healthy lake for future generations.
- Regardless of your political affiliation, stretch yourself to engage in conversation with friends, neighbors, and family around this important topic. If people want to learn more, share this website and the Our Gem Coeur d’Alene Lake Collaborative website to learn more.
- Cast your ballot for local and state leaders who demonstrate values around clean water and public health.
Find Your State Legislator
A Timeline of Events
That prompted the National Academy Study
April 2019
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe formally withdrew its support for the 2009 Lake Management Plan (LMP). According to a document written by the Tribe, A Critical Review of the 2009 Lake Management Plan, they withdrew from the LMP for several reasons, the main three reasons were 1) water quality triggers were being exceeded such as dissolved oxygen, phosphorous, and zinc. 2) partnering agencies (e.g., elected officials of Kootenai County, the State of Idaho, and DEQ) ignoring the implications of downward trending water data and 3) a failure of those agencies to adequately fund monitoring efforts and enforcement of current lakeshore regulations.
- Learn more Coeur d’Alene Tribe Pulls Out Of Lake Plan
- Full report A Critical Review of the 2009 Lake Management Plan – The Coeur d’Alene Tribe
The Tribe’s withdrawal from the LMP highlighted the seriousness of the issue and has since served as an important catalyst for further action described below.
November 2019
Idaho Governor Little proposed a third-party review of all available scientific data by the National Academy of Science (NAS) to inform the state’s steps moving forward. From the state’s perspective, the NAS third-party review is the State of Idaho’s response to the water quality trends. A first step in a comprehensive review of the existing scientific data. The NAS review is projected for completion by the end of September (2022).
- Learn more about the National Academy of Sciences.
- Read about varying perspectives regarding the NAS review in an article published by The Columbian: As Lake Coeur d’Alene gets sicker, Idaho governor orders review of data
August 2021/Spring 2022
The Coeur d’Alene Lake Advisory Committee (CLAC) was established.
As part of Governor Little’s Building Idaho’s Future initiative, $22 million was directed to fund shovel-ready projects that would reduce phosphorous levels in the lake. (2 million last year and 20 million more this year) The committee was tasked with prioritizing proposals submitted by the community for funding.
- Read the latest press release regarding the CLAC group: $20 million in Leading Idaho funds available for projects that reduce phosphorus pollution in Coeur d’Alene Lake
- Read about the individual projects receiving funding.
End of September 2022
The National Academy of Sciences Report is released to the public.
- Spokesman Review Article: Coeur d’Alene Lake health shows some improvements but by ‘no means out of the woods’
- The NAS Report and its recommendations to governmental agencies.
Lake Health Cd'A 