Adams Lake 2013 - 2018

BC Lake Stewardship and Monitoring Program Adams Lake 2013 - 2018 A partnership between the BC Lake Stewardship Society and the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy The Importance of Adams Lake & its Watershed British Columbians want lakes to provide good water quality, moves through watersheds and other hydrologic compart- aesthetics, and recreational opportunities. When these features ments. The quality of the water resource is largely determined are not apparent in our local lakes, people begin to wonder by a watershed’s capacity to buffer impacts and absorb pollu- why. Concerns often include whether the water quality is tion. getting worse, if the lake has been impacted by land development or other human activities, and what conditions Every component of a watershed (vegetation, soil, wildlife, will result from more development within the watershed. etc.) has an important function in maintaining good water quality and a healthy aquatic environment. It is a common miscon- The BC Lake Stewardship Society (BCLSS), in collaboration ception that detrimental land use practices will not impact wa- with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strate- ter quality if they are kept away from the area immediately gy (ENV), has designed a program, entitled The BC Lake surrounding a waterbody. Poor land use practices in a water- Stewardship and Monitoring Program, to address these con- shed can eventually impact the water quality of the down- cerns. Through regular water sample collections, we can come stream environment. to understand a lake's current water quality, identify the pre- ferred uses for a given lake, and monitor water quality changes Human activities that impact water bodies range from small resulting from land develop- but widespread and numer- ment within the lake's water- ous non-point sources shed. There are different lev- throughout the watershed to els of lake monitoring and large point sources of con- assessment. The level appro- centrated pollution (e.g. priate for a particular lake waste discharge outfalls, depends on the funding and spills, etc). Undisturbed wa- human resources available. tersheds have the ability to In some cases, data collected purify water and repair as part of a Level I or II pro- small amounts of damage gram can point to the need from pollution and altera- for a more in-depth Level III tions. However, modifica- program. This report gives tions to the landscape and the 2013-2018 results of a increased levels of pollution Level II program for Adams impair this ability. Lake. Adams Lake is a large lake The BCLSS can provide located in the Shuswap Re- communities with both lake- gion, approximately 20 km specific monitoring results north of Chase. Adams Lake and educational materials on lies at an elevation of 408 m general lake protection is- and has a surface area of sues. This useful information 137 km2. It is approximately can help communities play a more active role in the protection 72 km long and 3.2 km wide. Adams Lake has a volume of of the lake resource. Finally, this program allows government over 23.2 Mm3, a mean depth of 169 m, and a maximum depth to use its limited resources efficiently with the help of local of 457 m. It is the second deepest lake in BC. volunteers and the BCLSS. Adams Lake has three main inflows: Upper Adams River, A watershed is defined as the entire area of land that moves Momich River, and Bush Creek. The Adams Lake outflow is the water it receives into a common waterbody. The term wa- the Lower Adams River. The Lower Adams River is one of the tershed is misused when describing only the land immediately most important sockeye salmon breeding areas in North Amer- around a waterbody or the waterbody itself. The true definition ica. Due to the significance of salmonid use of Adams Lake, represents a much larger area than most people normally con- the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has also conducted sider. The watershed area of Adams Lake is 4,143 km2. limnological and fisheries work in this water body. For addi- tional reading go to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada website Watersheds are where much of the hydrologic cycle occurs and at https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/index-eng.htm. Adams Lake play a crucial role in the purification of water. Although no supports chinook salmon, coho salmon, kokanee, mountain “new” water is ever made, it is continuously recycled as it whitefish, rainbow trout, and sockeye (Fish Wizard, 2019). Adams Lake has significant cultural, fisheries, and recreation values. A provincial park, Adams Lake Provincial Park (Bush Creek Site), is located on the southwestern shore. There are also three marine provincial parks on the lake: Poplar Point, Refuge Bay, and Spillman Beach sites. Several other parks and recreation sites provide access to Adams Lake and River. The lake recreational uses include canoeing, fishing, swimming, hiking, scuba diving, windsurfing, and waterskiing. The map below shows the Adams Lake watershed and its associated land use practices. Land use in the Adams Lake watershed includes forestry, limited urban development, and small agricultural holdings. The majority of the shoreline of Adams Lake is not de- veloped. There is a mix of permanent and seasonal residents at Squaam Bay on the west side of the lake. A resort and cabins are located on the north shore of the bay and two cabins on the south shore. A Girl Guide Camp is situated on the south shore of the lake north of Adams Lake Park (Bush Creek site). There is an Interfor-Adams Lake Lumber Mill at the south as well as a number of residents living on both shores (Cal Eco Consultants Ltd., 2008). Adams Lake Watershed Map Non-Point Source Pollution and Adams Lake Point source pollution originates from municipal or industrial washed by rain and snowmelt from our yards and streets. effluent outfalls. Other pollution sources exist over broader Pavement increases runoff of surface water and the amount of areas and may be hard to isolate as distinct effluents. These are contaminants entering water bodies. Pavement collects con- referred to as non-point sources of pollution (NPS). Shoreline taminants during dry weather, and prevents water from soak- modification, urban stormwater runoff, onsite septic systems, ing into the ground during storm events. Phosphorus and sedi- agriculture, and forestry are common contributors to NPS pol- ment are of greatest concern, providing nutrients and/or a root- lution. One of the most detrimental effects of NPS pollution is ing medium for aquatic plants and algae. phosphorus loading to water bodies. The amount of total phosphorus (TP) in a lake can be greatly influenced by human ac- Forestry tivities. If local soils and vegetation do not retain this phospho- Forestry, which includes clear cutting, road building and other rus, it will enter watercourses where it will become available land disturbances is essential to the economy, however it can for algal production. increase sediment and phosphorus, and alter water flow. Agriculture Boating Agriculture is economically and culturally important. When Oil and fuel leaks are the main concerns of boat operation on practices are improperly managed, however, there can be sig- small lakes. With larger boats, sewage and grey water dis- nificant NPS impacts, such as nutrients and pathogens from charges are issues. Other problems include the spread of aquat- manure and damage to shorelines from livestock access. ic plants and the dumping of litter. In shallow water opera- tions, the churning up of bottom sediments and nutrients is a Onsite Septic Systems and Grey Water serious concern. Onsite septic systems effectively treat human waste water and wash water (grey water) as long as they are properly located, Atmospheric Deposition designed, installed, and maintained. When these systems fail, Gases and particulates released to the atmosphere from com- they become significant sources of nutrients and pathogens. bustion sources such as motor vehicle emissions, slash burn- Poorly maintained pit privies, used for the disposal of human ing, and industrial sources contain nitrogen, sulphur and metal waste and grey water, can also be significant contributors. compounds which eventually settle to the ground as dust or fall to the earth in rain and snow. These contaminants can fall di- Stormwater Runoff rectly into a waterbody, filter slowly into groundwater, or be Over-fertilizing of lawns and gardens, oil and fuel leaks from washed into surface waters with runoff. vehicles, snowmobiles and boats, road salt, and litter are all Adams Lake Bathymetric Map X = monitoring location X Caution: do not use this map for navigational purposes. Map obtained from FIDQ. Lake surveyed August, 1949. What’s Going on Inside Adams Lake? Temperature On April 18, 2017, the sampling site profile indicates iso- BC lakes can show a variety of annual temperature patterns thermy (same temperature) in the water column, shown in the based on their location and depth. Most interior lakes form previous graph. This indicates that the lake was sampled dur- layers (stratify), with the coldest water near the bottom. Be- ing spring overturn, as the readings throughout the water col- cause colder water is more dense, it resists mixing into the umn are very similar. warmer, upper layer for much of the summer. When the warmer oxygen rich surface water distinctly separates from the cold oxygen poor water in the deeper parts of the lake, it is said to Adams Lake DO/T Profile at Brennan Point May 20, 2015 create a thermocline, a region of rapid temperature change between the two layers. Temperature (°C) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 In spring and fall, these lakes usually mix from top to bottom 0 Temp (overturn) as wind energy overcomes the reduced temperature 25 and density differences between surface and bottom waters.

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