By Dennis Box, The Courier-Herald

Let the cleaning begin.

The Lake Bonney Conservation Association, also known as the Lake Keepers, has set a goal to bring Lake Bonney back to a pristine state and they have taken the first steps in the process.

On Saturday, a group of volunteers gathered and worked on the perimeter of the lake. Several groups picked up litter, bagged it and left it along the road for city workers to pick up Monday.

Another group, which included Bonney Lake resident and Enumclaw High School teacher John Hofstrand and Sumner High School students Evan McCauley and Joe Stewart, placed erosion blankets on hillsides.

Dana McCauley, along with Sharilyn and Larry Anderson, used a stencil to spray-paint "save the fish" and water warnings next to the storm water grates around the lake.

"We decided to do an event to help Lake Bonney and get our group going," said Dana McCauley, secretary-treasurer of the Lake Bonney Conservation Association. "We painted warnings on the grates so people would understand the water going into the drain goes directly into the lake."

The Pierce County Stream Team is assisting the association in its efforts. The city of Bonney Lake has contracted with the Stream Team to help organize volunteer efforts to work on both Lake Bonney and Debra Jane Lake and gather scientific data about the health of the lakes.

"The Stream Team organizes volunteer programs and provides education and action projects for water quality," said Jayme Gordon, Stream Team coordinator. "We provide information, resources and technical assistance. If we can't provide the answer, we try to get it for them. We are not a regulatory agency; we try to help member of the community."

The city has asked the Stream Team to coordinated a water monitoring program for Bonney Lake and Debra Jane Lake.

Bonney Lake will pay for the monitoring equipment, and the Stream Team will train volunteers from the Association to collect the data. The Stream Team will process the data.

"We have a similar program in Lakewood with five lakes including American Lake and Gravelly Lake," Gordon said. "It has been very successful in dealing with the problems the community was facing with those water systems."

Dana McCauley, Sue Elsey, Sharilyn Anderson and Sharon Steel formed the association last year.

"They have a lot of great ideas," Gordon said. "They're fun to work with and the group has a lot of energy. They're exciting to work with in this partnership.'”

Another work party event with the Stream Team and the Association is planned for September.

"We're talking about manually harvesting noxious weeds, lily pads and blanket algae," McCauley said. "The Stream Team will help organize this. They have groups of volunteers throughout Pierce County that can help. The city will buy the rakes and equipment and the Stream Team will put together the volunteers."

The association registered with the state as a non-profit organization and is in the process of filing with the federal government.

The first annual meeting is May 1 for members only.

For more information on membership or the planned work of the Association call Dana McCauley at 253-863-6190

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com