Lake Tapps is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

Pierce County, Washington Pierce County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous ...

. It was created in 1911 by Puget Sound Power & Light and operated for hydroelectric power until it ceased power production in 2004. The reservoir was sold to the Cascade Water Alliance, a collective of municipalities in King County, to provide drinking water to 350,000 residents and 20,000 businesses. The lake is open to recreational use through an agreement between Cascade and homeowners on Lake Tapps to maintain certain reservoir levels during the summer. Cascade also has agreements with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and the

Puyallup Tribe of Indians The Puyallup Tribe of Indians ( ; ; commonly known as the Puyallup Tribe) is a federally-recognized tribe of Puyallup people from western Washington state, United States. The tribe is primarily located on the Puyallup Indian Reservation, alt ...

to ensure instream flows for fish. The level of the reservoir is lowered from about October to April to allow important upkeep and maintenance to be done, as well as an occasional major capital project. The winter lowering of the reservoir levels also ensures the safety of dikes from wind, waves and storms. Lake Tapps is about in surface area and has about of shoreline. The local terrain is such that the shape of the shoreline is very complex, with many inlets, peninsulas, and islands. Before the reservoir was created there were several smaller lakes, including one called Lake Tapps. The reservoir is held in place by a series of

dikes Dyke or dike may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), formations of magma or sediment that cut through and across the layering of adjacent rocks * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess ...

. The reservoir is also known to hold many fish including

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

, and tiger musky. A

diversion dam A diversion dam is a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir; instead, the water is diverted into an artificial water course or canal, which ...

on the White River, near Buckley, routes water into a flume which empties into the east side of Lake Tapps. On the west side of the reservoir, water had originally been routed to the Dieringer Powerhouse to generate

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

, after which the water was returned to the White River, about downstream from the diversion dam. Although there is no longer power generation, the water is still diverted and returned to the river through the former hydropower infrastructure. At the diversion structure on the White River the US Army Corps of Engineers began to replace the existing barrier and fish trap. The project began in mid-2018 and is expected to be completed in 2023. Lake Tapps is primarily in unincorporated Pierce County, with some surrounding areas part of the city of Bonney Lake. At the northern edge of Lake Tapps is Auburn.

Public access

Public access is limited as the shoreline is nearly all developed and access restricted to

neighborhood association A neighborhood association (NA) is a group of residents or property owners who advocate to organize activities within a neighborhood. An association may have elected leaders and voluntary dues. Some neighborhood associations in the United State ...

s. General access is available at the northeastern end at North Lake Tapps Park. The park is owned by Pierce County and open to the public, subject to a daily use fee. The other public access is on the south end at Allan Yorke Park, owned by Bonney Lake.

References

External links

Bonney Lake & Lake Tapps Courier-Herald - Current articlesLake Tapps NewsCascade Water Alliance
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Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). It administers three programs established to document historic places in the United States: Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American E ...

(HAER) documentation, filed under Dieringer, Pierce County, WA: ** ** ** ** ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapps Historic American Engineering Record in Washington (state) Lakes of Pierce County, Washington Reservoirs in Washington (state) Protected areas of Pierce County, Washington