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| Title | Water Quality Assessments of Selected Lakes within Washington State: 1997 | |||
| Month-Year Published | March 2000 | |||
| Online Availability |
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| Short Description |
The objectives of the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Lake Water Quality Assessment Program are to identify lakes that are exhibiting water quality problems, to assess significant, publicly-owned lakes by estimating the trophic status of monitored lakes, and to promote public awareness of lake ecology and protection. In 1997, Ecology staff collected data from 70 lakes. Water samples were collected in May and August 1997 from both the epilimnion and the hypolimnion of stratified lakes except those Thurston County lakes where the Thurston County Environmental Health were monitoring water quality. Samples were analyzed for total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chlorophyll a. (Also see abstract below) | |||
| Publication Number | 00-03-009 | |||
| Author(s) | Smith, K.A., J. Parsons, and D. Hallock | |||
| Print Availability | ||||
| Number of pages | 12 + app (51 total) | |||
| Keywords | assessment, basin, county, environmental, environmental health, lake, monitoring, secchi disk, Thurston, trophic state index, volunteer, water, water quality | |||
| Subject Waterbodies |
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| Related Publications | Title | Relationship | ||
| Appendix A: Water Quality Assessments of Selected Lakes within Washington State: 1997 | appendix | |||
| Abstract | Long Description |
The objectives of the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Lake Water Quality Assessment Program are to identify lakes that are exhibiting water quality problems, to assess significant, publicly-owned lakes by estimating the trophic status of monitored lakes, and to promote public awareness of lake ecology and protection. In 1997, Ecology staff collected data from 70 lakes. Water samples were collected in May and August 1997 from both the epilimnion and the hypolimnion of stratified lakes except those Thurston County lakes where the Thurston County Environmental Health were monitoring water quality. Samples were analyzed for total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chlorophyll a. Because of budget shortfalls, chlorophyll samples were not collected in the spring. Samples for turbidity and fecal coliform bacteria were also collected from basin lakes and lakes with suspected or known sedimentation and/or bacterial contamination problems. To supplement data collected by Ecology staff, volunteers participating in Washington′s Citizen Lake Monitoring Program measured Secchi disk transparency and surface water temperature in 52 of the 70 lakes. Volunteers monitored their lakes twice a month from May through October. Most volunteers also completed a questionnaire on lake and watershed uses. Carlson′s Trophic State Index (1977), tempered with professional judgement, was used to evaluate volunteer-collected Secchi depth data and Ecology-collected phosphorus and chlorophyll a data. Trophic state estimations were assigned to the lakes assessed using data collected by Ecology professionals, citizen volunteers, and data supplied by Sue Davis with the Thurston County Environmental Health. Of the 70 lakes evaluated, 12 were oligotrophic, 24 were oligo-mesotrophic, 13 were mesotrophic, 9 were meso-eutrophic, and 12 were eutrophic. |
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