Lake Killarney (Lake)

Lake Killarney lies in King County, Washington, straddling the line between Federal Way and the Lakeland South census designated place [1]. It shares Lakeland South with Lake Geneva, Fivemile Lake, and Trout Lake [1]. Lake Killarney Open Space Park occupies its western shore, and a boat ramp run by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife sits at the lake's northeastern end, opposite Lake Geneva across the road [1]. The water holds a mix of fish, among them bass, perch, sunfish, trout, bullhead, and bluegill [1]. The lake drains 185 acres and is classed as a moderately productive, mesotrophic body of water [1]. Nutrient levels have tended to drop over the years, which has meant better water quality [1]. Arsenic pollution also marks the lake, since a copper smelter that ASARCO once ran in Tacoma sat 15 miles upwind, and arsenic and lead drifted from it across the area [1]. University of Washington researchers determined that shallow lakes such as this one carry more arsenic at the surface than deeper ones like Angle Lake [1].