Publication Summary

The objectives of the volunteer monitoring portion of Ecology′s Lake Water Quality Assessment (LWQA) Program are to identify lakes that are exhibiting water quality problems, assess publicly-owned lakes by estimating their trophic status, and promote public awareness of lake ecology and protection.

Volunteer monitors participating in the LWQA Program measured Secchi disk transparency, surface water temperature, pH, and other environmental parameters in 54 lakes in 1998 and in 47 lakes in 1999. The lakes were monitored bimonthly from May through October. To supplement volunteer-collected data, Ecology staff collected water samples and profile data from all volunteer-monitored lakes. Water samples were collected from the epilimnion layer of stratified lakes and were analyzed for total phosphorus.

For the appendices to this report, go to http:/www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0203019app.html.

The objectives of the volunteer monitoring portion of Ecology′s Lake Water Quality Assessment (LWQA) Program are to identify lakes that are exhibiting water quality problems, assess publicly-owned lakes by estimating their trophic status, and promote public awareness of lake ecology and protection.

Volunteer monitors participating in the LWQA Program measured Secchi disk transparency, surface water temperature, pH, and other environmental parameters in 54 lakes in 1998 and in 47 lakes in 1999. The lakes were monitored bimonthly from May through October. To supplement volunteer-collected data, Ecology staff collected water samples and profile data from all volunteer-monitored lakes. Water samples were collected from the epilimnion layer of stratified lakes and were analyzed for total phosphorus.

Carlson′s Trophic State Index (1977) was calculated for volunteer-collected Secchi depth data, and Ecology-collected phosphorus data. Trophic state estimations, based on these calculations and an evaluation of other data, were assigned to each lake. For the 54 lakes sampled in 1998, 27 lakes (50%) were oligotrophic or oligomesotrophic, 21 lakes (40%) were mesotrophic or mesoeutrophic, and 3 lakes (5%) were eutrophic. Three lakes (5%) did not have enough Secchi data to calculate an index. For the 47 lakes sampled in 1999, 17 lakes (36%) were oligotrophic or oligomesotrophic, 21 lakes (45%) were mesotrophic or mesoeutrophic, and 4 lakes (9%) were eutrophic. Five lakes (10%) did not have enough Secchi data to calculate an index.

This report contains a lake assessment, a trophic state index, chemical data, a lake profile, and Secchi data for each volunteer-monitored lake.

Link to EIM data for User Study ID AMS002