Trash piles up at Arcadia Lake — Edmond's main source of drinking water

EDMOND — David Daniels waded a couple of steps into the water, pushing through a sludge of sticks and broken Styrofoam pieces.

He cast his line as far as he could into Arcadia Lake then slowly walked back to shore, hoping to reel in a blue catfish and not a plastic bottle.

“Looks pretty bad today,” Daniels said.

Daniels has visited Arcadia Lake to go fishing before, but unlike most visitors who blame unruly campers or flippant fishermen for the trash, he knows different.

“This comes in from the city, doesn't it?” Daniels said.

The lake, Edmond's main source of drinking water, is also the final resting place for much of the litter that falls on the streets of Edmond and Oklahoma City. During a flood or heavy rain, the cities' stormwater systems collect the trash before flushing it into Arcadia Lake.

Nicole Offutt, Edmond's administrative supervisor for Arcadia Lake, said trash is a constant problem because the lake's drainage basin is so large. The water is tested regularly for contaminants like runoff from yards, Offutt said, so while unsightly, the trash doesn't make the water unsafe to drink.

Offutt has fewer than 10 people on staff to collect trash that washes up on the lake's shores after the water level returns to normal, but the workers target the developed areas of the lake that draw more people.

“It will always be an ongoing battle,” Offutt said. “As quick as we put a dent in it, more will come back. There is no downtime.”

Lake officials and the city of Edmond host cleanup events such as Arcadia Lake Sweep and Operation Clean Community every year, but Offutt said groups that regularly volunteer from businesses or churches make the biggest impact.

Ultimately, Offutt said, it comes down to keeping litter off the streets.

“It's all about education,” Offutt said. “People need to know that Styrofoam cup and plastic bottle don't just go away.”

Not a priority

Craig Dishman, Edmond's parks and recreation director, said his department is aware of the problem but fixing it is not a priority.

It's important to remember the lake was not built for recreational use, Dishman said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the reservoir in the late 1980s for use as a water source and for flood control, Dishman said.

The need for more maintenance staff will continue to increase as the city continues to add amenities to the lake, Dishman said. The budget is tight, he said, but a new maintenance position will be added in the next fiscal year, which begins in July.

The lake always hires seasonal workers, Dishman said, but full-time positions are more difficult to fill.

“It's hard to find people to work,” Dishman said.

Other Edmond parks, like Mitch Park, often have a large number of eager volunteers, Dishman said. But the trash is not there, so he tries to redirect them to Arcadia Lake.

Leon Mixer, Arcadia Lake's maintenance supervisor, said the sight of the trash grieves him, but he is tired of his maintenance workers getting bashed for a problem too large for them to solve.

“We don't have enough personnel,” Mixer said. “We're doing everything we can do with the resources that we have.”

Arcadia Lake has about 26 miles of shoreline at normal levels, and hosts more than 750,000 people every year, Mixer said. Heavy rains are common.

In his almost 31 years as maintenance supervisor, Mixer said he has seen four 100-year floods.

“I'm starting to feel like Moses,” Mixer said.

Mixer said he has seen "just about everything" wash into the lake, including a microwave, tractor tire and a 500-gallon propane tank.

A ‘hidey-hole'

Meanwhile, illegal dumping has become commonplace on lake property.

Piles of industrial waste and household trash often are left at the end of a short gravel road that Mixer describes as a “hidey-hole” on the east side of Memorial Road near the lake.

Mixer said his team has set up trail cameras in that spot and others around the lake, but it's difficult to catch and prosecute dumpers.

They once captured a license plate number in an image, but it turned out to be stolen from another car.

Mixer said he could press the lake patrol division of the Edmond Police Department to do more digging, but he tries to keep a realistic perspective.

“It's not a homicide,” Mixer said.

Mixer has been at the lake since before it was a lake. He said he spent his childhood collecting hay in the pastures that are now several feet underwater. He hates seeing trash pile up, but said his staff needs help.

“We just happen to be the collection point of a lot of environmental problems,” Mixer said. “I don't want my grandkids or great-grandkids in this mess.”