SOAP LAKE - Comments are piling up against a proposal to change the name of the body of water known as Soap Lake.

The Washington State Committee on Geographic Names is considering whether to reinstate the name of the lake to its native "Smokiam" at the recommendation of Soap Lake resident Bonnie Holt-Morehouse and Moses Lake historian and author Robert Ruby.

The city's name would remain the same under their proposal.

Over the past several months, the committee has gathered nearly 300 opinions and comments on the proposal. The vast majority - about 280 - voiced opposition to the idea, while fewer than 10 people were in favor and two were neutral.

"The majority are from local citizens, although we take comments from everybody," said Caleb Maki, executive secretary of the Washington State Committee on Geographic Names.

Maki said it always depends on how controversial a change is, but the number of comments received on the Soap Lake name change is fairly typical for a well-known geographical feature.

"The Salish Sea a few years ago was the same thing, but in this case most of the comments are negative," he said.

Comments were submitted by a broad array of people from across Washington, many of whom raised concerns about the cost of the change, the confusion it might cause or simply because they see it as a waste of time. The comments range from verbose, multi-page letters to the more clear cut, "No. Heck no."

The Geographic Names Committee held an initial hearing in November and scheduled a final hearing in Olympia on May 18.

The committee's recommendation to either accept or deny the change will be forwarded to the Washington State Board on Geographic Names, which oversees the official establishment of names throughout the state.

Comments are available online at www.soaplakeforlocals.com under "Soap Lake or Smokium?" by clicking on the link for the committee's website.

Anyone still wishing to submit comments to the committee concerning the Soap Lake name change must do so by Monday at 360-902-1280 or by sending an email to caleb.maki@dnr.wa.gov.