Lake Water Quality Report 2008
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The Root of the Matter ... Lake Water Quality Report 2008 Kawartha Lake Stewards Association April 2009 Winner of Cottage Life’s 2008 Green Cottager Award Kawartha Lake Stewards Association Lake Water Quality Report - 2008 This report was prepared exclusively for the information of and for use by the members of the KLSA, its funders, interested academics and researchers, and other non-profit associations and individuals engaged in similar water quality testing in Ontario. The accuracy of the information and the conclusions in this report are subject to risks and uncertainties including but not limited to errors in sampling methodology, testing error, reporting error and statistical error. KLSA does not guarantee the reliability or completeness of the data published in this report. Nothing in this report should be taken as an assurance that any part of any particular body of water has any particular water quality characteristics, or is (or is not) safe to swim in or to drink from. There can be no assurance that conditions that prevailed at the time and place that any given testing result was obtained will continue into the future, or that trends suggested in this report will continue. The use of this report for commercial, promotional or transactional purposes of any kind whatsoever, including but not limited to the valuation, leasing or sale of real estate, is inappropriate and is expressly prohibited. This report may be reproduced in whole or in part by members of KLSA or KSLA’s funders or research partners, for their own internal purposes. Others require the prior permission of KLSA. Please Note: To obtain copies of our report or to find out more about KLSA please contact: Kawartha Lake Stewards Association P.O. Box 1460, Lakefield, ON K0L 2H0 Email: [email protected] You can view Adobe pdf versions of KLSA reports on the web at the KLSA website: http://klsa.wordpress.com Our cover: In 2008, KLSA embarked on an ambitious program to understand the ecology and management of aquatic plants in the Kawartha Lakes. The findings of our study provide some answers, and many questions. They point to the need to take a holistic approach to thinking about our lakes: aquatic plants provide fish habitat and breeding areas while at the same time they can be an impediment to recreational activities in our lakes. The Aquatic Plants Guide is a first step, but certainly more work needs to be done to get to the Root of the Matter. 1 Table of Contents Chair’s Message ..........................................................................................................................................................................................4 Executive Summary – 2008 report ......................................................................................................................................................8 The Central Lakes of the Kawarthas ................................................................................................................................................11 Sturgeon Lake ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................11 “Lake Kawartha” .......................................................................................................................................................................................................13 Pigeon Lake ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................14 The Bald Lakes .........................................................................................................................................................................................................15 The Mississagua River .........................................................................................................................................................................................15 Scotts Mills dam .....................................................................................................................................................................................................17 Chemong Lake ........................................................................................................................................................................................................18 Buckhorn Lake .........................................................................................................................................................................................................19 Sandy Lake .................................................................................................................................................................................................................19 Buckhorn .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................20 E.coli Bacteria Testing ............................................................................................................................................................................21 Phosphorus Testing ...............................................................................................................................................................................22 Nitrogen Sources ....................................................................................................................................................................................25 KLSA’s Aquatic Plants Study ................................................................................................................................................................29 Observations from the shore .........................................................................................................................................................................32 The 2007 carp die-off ............................................................................................................................................................................33 Lake Animals Masquerading as Plants ...........................................................................................................................................34 Appendix A: .............................................................................................................................................................................................35 Mission statement .................................................................................................................................................................................................35 Executive board ......................................................................................................................................................................................................35 Other volunteers ....................................................................................................................................................................................................36 Appendix B: Financial Partners ..........................................................................................................................................................37 Appendix C: Treasurer’s Report .........................................................................................................................................................38 Narrative ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................38 Revenue and expenses .............................................................................................................................................................................. 39, 40 Auditor’s report ................................................................................................................................................................................................41-44 Appendix D: Privacy Policy .................................................................................................................................................................44 Appendix E: E.coli Testing ....................................................................................................................................................................45 Basic rationale for E.coli testing .....................................................................................................................................................................45 Lake-by-lake results ..............................................................................................................................................................................................46 Appendix F: Phosphorus and Secchi Data ....................................................................................................................................52 Low phosphorus lakes ........................................................................................................................................................................................53