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| Title | Sun Lakes Trophic Status Assessment Study | |||
| Month-Year Published | March 1999 | |||
| Online Availability |
469 kilobytes, requires version 4.0 or later of Adobe Acrobat Reader Software get Acrobat Reader
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| Short Description |
Five lakes in the Sun Lakes area of eastern Washington -- Deep, Park, Blue, Alkali, and Lenore -- were studied to evaluate their trophic status and the impacts of pollutant sources in the watershed. Five surveys of the lakes were conducted between May and October 1996. (Also see abstract below) | |||
| Publication Number | 99-315 | |||
| Author(s) | Pickett, P. | |||
| Print Availability | ||||
| Number of pages | 48 pp. + app. (86 total) | |||
| Keywords | algae, assessment, basin, best management practice, chlorophyll, lake, livestock, model, nitrogen, nutrient loading, pH, phosphorus, study, trophic status, water, water quality, watershed | |||
| Subject Waterbodies |
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| Abstract | Long Description |
Five lakes in the Sun Lakes area of eastern Washington -- Deep, Park, Blue, Alkali, and Lenore -- were studied to evaluate their trophic status and the impacts of pollutant sources in the watershed. Five surveys of the lakes were conducted between May and October 1996. Deep Lake is a pristine oligo-mesotrophic lake with exceptional clarity and low phytoplankton levels. Park and Blue Lakes are mestrophic, with moderate clarity and phytoplankton populations. Alkali Lake is meso-eutrophic with relatively low clarity, higher phytoplankton populations, and heavy benthic growth of submerged plants and algae. Lenore Lake is the most saline as well as the most nutrient-enriched of the lakes, exhibiting meso-eutrophic conditions with the lowest clarity and highest phytoplankton populations of the five lakes. Both total phosphorus and total nitrogen limitations appear to be necessary in all five lakes to prevent excessive phytoplankton growth and loss of clarity. A nutrient loading model of the Sun Lakes found that all the lakes except Deep Lake had significant loading from residential and recreational activities in the lakes′ basins. The model also showed increased nutrient levels in Alkali and Lenore lakes due to livestock access. Future growth is also projected to increase the nutrient loading to the lakes, but improved Best Management Practices for current nutrient sources should offset the potential effect of growth. Water quality target values are proposed for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, Secchi depth and chlorophyll a in the five lakes. Long-term seasonal monitoring of the lakes is recommended to track nutrient levels and trophic measures for comparison to the target values. |
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