Dieringer School District—An
Overview
Established in 1890, Dieringer School District consolidated with
Lake Tapps School District in 1936. The District's three schools,
Lake Tapps Elementary School, Dieringer Heights Elementary School
and North Tapps Middle School, provide K through 8th grade education,
and serve as hubs for community activities as well. The majority
of Dieringer School District #343 is located in unincorporated Pierce
County, bounded on the east by the White River, on the west by the
Stuck River, on the north by the city of Auburn, and on the south
by the cities of Bonney Lake and Sumner. The District surrounds
the northern two-thirds of Lake Tapps and covers approximately 5.5
square miles.
For more information on the make-up of individual schools, please
view the school performance report at each school's web page. It
is listed under "Student Performance".
History of Lake Tapps
Lake Tapps was formed in 1911 as a reservoir for generation of
hydro-electric power by Puget Power Energy. Originally the area
consisted of four separate lakes, Lake Kirtley, Lake Tapps, Crawford
Lake, and Church Lake. Two and a half miles of earthen dams allowed
the water level of Lake Tapps to raise 35 feet joining the four
lakes together.
The lake's surface area consist of 2,566 acres with a storage capacity
of 46,655 acre-feet of water. With 45 miles of shoreline Lake Tapps
is only 13 miles less than that of Lake Washington located in Seattle.
Lake Tapps receives its water supply directly from the White River,
with its head waters located on the northeast slopes of Mt. Rainier.
This mountain run-off contains glacier dust, which gives Lake Tapps
its beautiful unique shade of green.
Large runs of fish, including salmon & stealhead, migrate yearly
up the White River. The U.S. Army Corps of Egineers maintains a
fish trap, adjacent to Puget Power's diversion flume, which is upstream
from the Lake Tapps inlet. After the fish are trapped they are transported
by a special tanker truck and released further upstream into the
Mud Mountain Dam Reservior enabling them to continue their migration.
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