June 30, 2010 Water Quality Report & Data Summary
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BAYLES LAKE June 30, 2010 Water Quality Report & Data Summary Prepared For: Bayles Lake Homeowners Association Rodney Cardinal 424 Wolfe Dr. Loda, IL 60948 Prepared By: Sandy Kubillus Integrated Lakes Management 120 Le Baron St. Waukegan, IL 60085 120 LeBaron St., Waukegan, IL 60085; 847-244-6662; 847-244-0261 (fax); www.lakesmanagement.com 1 BAYLES LAKE June 30, 2010 Water Quality Report & Data Summary TABLE OF CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………. ….. 3 II WATER QUALITY SUMMARY…………………..…………………………. 7 Nutrients – phosphorus ………………………………………………….……… 9 Nutrients – nitrogen……………………………………………………………… 11 Fecal coliform…………………………………………………………………….. 13 Water clarity, chlorophyll a & suspended solids……………………………….14 Trophic State Index……………………………………………………………… 15 Chloride and conductivity ………………………………………………………. 16 Dissolved oxygen ……………………………………………………………….. 17 Algae analysis …………………………………………………………………… 19 Sediment analysis and sediment quality …………………………………….. 20 Atrazine………………………………………………………………………….. 22 III FISHERIES SUMMARY ……………………………………………………….. 23 Fisheries recommendations ………………………………………………….. 29 IV CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………. 30 V RECOMMENDATION ………………………………………………………… 31 APPENDIX Technical Report Field methods for water quality testing Chemical testing Bayles Lake water quality summary Bayles Lake fisheries summary Lab reports Historic bathymetric information Lake Notes Home and yard Shoreline buffer strips Fertilizers and pesticides Canada geese and your lake Artificial structures for fish cover Common lake water quality parameters Lake aeration and circulation Lake dredging 120 LeBaron St., Waukegan, IL 60085; 847-244-6662; 847-244-0261 (fax); www.lakesmanagement.com 2 120 LeBaron St. Waukegan, IL 60085 847-244-6662 847-244-0261 fax www.lakesmanagement.com BAYLES LAKE Water Quality Testing & Data Summary June 30, 2010 I INTRODUCTION: Integrated Lakes Management (ILM) was invited to Bayles Lake to perform water quality testing for one visit in 2010. This was ILM’s first visit to Bayles Lake so it involved a more detailed analysis of the lake as well as reviewing historic water quality and fisheries data. Specifically, this site visit and report includes the following: • Review all available data provided by the Bayles Lake Homeowners Association which included PDC Lab reports from 2003 – 2010 and IDNR fisheries surveys from 2002 & 2009. • General sediment probing of the lake to get some sense of sediment depth in areas less than 20 ft deep – included approximately 25 points. • Two sediment samples were collected and analyzed for nutrients. • Performed dissolved oxygen / temperature / pH / conductivity profiles at six locations within the lake. • Performed water quality monitoring for nutrients at two sites. • A general evaluation of the shoreline type and condition in terms of vegetation types and erosion. • A general evaluation of all influences on the lake’s water quality. • An evaluation of the algae and aquatic plant growth at the time of the site visit. • An evaluation as to the eutrophication of the lake. • Discuss environmental issues that affect the lake (lawn care, agricultural influences, watershed/drainage area). • Address continuing education information for the Bayles Lake residents. Monitoring water quality at Bayles Lake is useful since lake related activities are the cornerstone of the community and water quality is very important. Agricultural practices and human activities increase nutrient accumulation in the lake and lake sediment. Nutrients are an integral part of aquatic and terrestrial life, but large amounts of Spring Creek diversion channel nutrients can overwhelm natural ecosystem processes and produce negative effects, such as algae growth, low dissolved oxygen concentrations, and degrade the lake’s overall condition. The quality of life and property values will decrease due to these negative effects. Monitoring water quality throughout the year as well as from year to year will determine the causes of the degradation and allow for appropriate response. Bayles Lake is a man-made reservoir constructed in the late 1940s. The lake is 125 acres and has a maximum depth of 22 ft and an average depth of 9.2 ft according to the IDNR 120 LeBaron St., Waukegan, IL 60085; 847-244-6662; 847-244-0261 (fax); www.lakesmanagement.com 3 120 LeBaron St., Waukegan, IL 60085; 847-244-6662; 847-244-0261 (fax); www.lakesmanagement.com 4 Lake Iroquois Bayles Lake Aerial Photo of Bayles Lake watershed. 120 LeBaron St., Waukegan, IL 60085; 847-244-6662; 847-244-0261 (fax); www.lakesmanagement.com 5 Division of Fisheries 1974 survey. The watershed is approximately 6,938 acres according to Thad Eshleman, Resource Conservationist for Iroquois County Soil and Water Conservation District. Most of the watershed consists of agricultural land, which drains into Bayles Lake, then into Spring Creek. Spring Creek has been diverted so that it no longer flows into Bayles Lake, and the diversion channel is located east of the lake. A golf course is located immediately south of the lake and owns part of the shoreline. Narrow channel separating the north Some blue-green algae near the channel and south basins Historically the lake was dominated by aquatic weeds but currently the lake is dominated by planktonic algae and has little, if any weed growth. The lake has a greenish hue due to this algae growth. Filamentous algae have not been a problem and no algae treatments have been made. Some blue green algae have occurred, but it has not become dominant, although at times it may collect in the bays depending on the wind direction. The Homeowners Association has written a short report on blue-green algae scum to inform the residents of its potential hazards. Bayles Lake is used primarily for fishing and has been stocked almost yearly since 2002, mostly with bass. The lake has experienced numerous fish kills that the IDNR has investigated. These include 1964, 1966, 1968, 1978, 2002, 2005 and 2008. In the 60’s or 70’s a lake rehabilitation project was performed in which the lake was lowered 7 – 12 feet and the undesirable fish and weeds were chemically treated. More recently the fish kills typically involve shad due to Columnaris bacteria. The lake is divided into two basins by a narrow bridge. The north basin is deeper and frequented more by swimmers than the south basin. The shoreline is well manicured with mowed lawns and riprap along the entire shoreline, except for a buffer strip along the golf course. Very little shoreline Typical lake shorelines erosion was noted and most shorelines contained some rock along the shoreline. Natural shoreline area on the south lake basin The HOA has developed a brochure encouraging residents to limit phosphorus use in lawn fertilizers and have encouraged residents to stop fertilizing at least three feet from the lake shoreline. 120 LeBaron St., Waukegan, IL 60085; 847-244-6662; 847-244-0261 (fax); www.lakesmanagement.com 6 Area homes are on septic systems and are in the process of upgrading this system. It may take 3 – 5 years to complete. A pipe carries the water from the septic systems to the diversion channel for Spring Creek. In the future the water will be run through a filtration system prior to discharging into the creek. Geese have also been a problem with thousands being observed during the fall. The lake usually does not freeze completely allowing the geese to remain throughout the winter. II WATER QUALITY SUMMARY 6/30/10 Site visit and comparisons to historic water quality data: ILM’s Certified Lake Manager Sandy Kubillus visited Bayles Lake on June 30th. A tour of the lake and assistance with field data collection was made with Rod Cardinal. During this visit the lake was probed in 23 locations to estimate sediment thickness, 6 dissolved oxygen profiles were conducted, and two sites had water quality and sediment testing performed. A tour of the area surrounding the lake was also made. The June 30th results are compared to historic samples made by PDC Laboratories from 2003 – 2010 when possible for similar parameters. ILM tested the center of the south basin and the deep section of the north basin. This sampling focused primarily on nutrients. PDC tested seven locations throughout the lake, primarily inlet areas, where they tested for nutrients and pesticides. For comparison purposes the north basin sampling site was compared to the PDC spillway site (Site 7) and the south basin site was compared to the golf course inlet (Site 2). These sites were closest to the ILM test sites. The data for the PDC and the ILM tests are in the appendix. North Basin South Basin ILM sampling locations at Bayles Lake on 6/30/10 120 LeBaron St., Waukegan, IL 60085; 847-244-6662; 847-244-0261 (fax); www.lakesmanagement.com 7 Spillway site PDC site 7 Golf course inlet PDC sampling sites 2003 - 2010 PDC site 2 120 LeBaron St., Waukegan, IL 60085; 847-244-6662; 847-244-0261 (fax); www.lakesmanagement.com 8 ILM Analytic Report for June 30th, 2010: Highlighted areas indicate exceedences. IL General Use South basin North basin State Standard/ Recommended Conc. Total Depth (feet) NA 4.0 15 Water Clarity (feet) 1.5 / 4 1.6 1.2 Water Temperature (ºC) NA 26.4 28.6 Dissolved Oxygen > 5.0 5.2 9.1 (surface/mg/l) Dissolved Oxygen > 5.0 2.2 2.2 (bottom/mg/l) Depth Dissolved Oxygen NA 4 8 below 5 mg/l (ft) pH 6.5 – 9 7.0 8.3 Orthophosphate (mg/l – field) 0.010 0.15 0.11 Alkalinity (mg/l) 90 - 250 97 88 Chloride (mg/l) 500 / 100 10 15 Conductivity (µmho@25ºC) NA 273 247 Chlorophyll a (ug/l) 20 13 39 Nitrogen, NH3 (mg/l) 15 / 0.1* 0.52 0.18 Nitrogen, NO2 + NO3 (mg/l) NA 0.33 ND Nitrogen, Kjeldahl (mg/l) NA 1.3 1.7 Orthophosphorus (mg/l) 0.010 0.11 0.11 Phosphorous, Total (mg/l) 0.050 0.26 0.29 Solids, Total Suspended 15** 20 25 (TSS) (mg/l) Fecal coliform (mfc/100 ml 200/400 20 10 ND = Not Detected, NA = Not Available, * Ammonia nitrogen is dependent on pH and temperature.