Capitol Lake

Project engineers partially drained Capitol Lake this week, part of a plan to transform Olympia by removing a dam and restoring the tidelands and estuary that was there before.

The Port of Olympia started work this week on a plan to remove legacy pollution from the waters of Budd Inlet at the southernmost tip of Puget Sound.

Olympia’s Capitol Lake will revert to an estuary. That’s the expectation now that the state has released its final environmental impact statement. It says a return to tidal mudflats is the only way to meet state water quality standards.

Olympia’s Capitol Lake was designed to be an ornamental reflecting pool to compliment the dome of the legislature. But the lake is in trouble. A…

Capitol Lake in Olympia began as a picturesque reflecting pond has filled with sediment and deteriorated into a shallow haven for invasive species. It's future is now at the center of a debate and the subject of a new study by the state.

A cold snap might be an effective tool for fish and wildlife managers trying to stop the spread of a tiny invasive species. Capitol Lake in Olympia is…