West Medical Lake Aerator

In 2013 the IEFFC helped WDFW purchase and install an aeration system in the northeast end of West Medical Lake.

This replaced an old, obsolete system that hasn’t operated for years. The main reason for needing the new system is to minimize the potential impacts of rapid lake turnover in the early fall. The lake normally turns over gradually over a period of a week or two but that can change quickly during storms, such as occurred in September, 2012, when high wind caused the lake to turn over in a matter of hours. This created an anoxic condition that resulted in a substantial fish kill. The new aerator will also be run during the winter to eliminate any potential winter kill. Quite a few of the club members fish West Medical Lake plus it is where we take the boys from the Morningstar Ranch to fish each spring. George Potter was the club leader with assistance from Boyd Matson and Jim Athearn. Our club contribution was a little over $5000 which was matched by the WDFW. The Spokane Flyfishers also provided some funds.