Lake Water Quality 2006 Report - Lakefield Herald

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Phosphorus Testingby Kathleen MackenziePhosphorus is an important nutrient for our lakes, but excess phosphorus can make alake murky and accelerate the formation of thick, rich sediments. This is why KLSAvolunteers, and hundreds of others throughout Ontario, monitor phosphorus byannually submitting samples of lake water to be analyzed through the OntarioMinistry of the Environment’s Lake Partner Program(www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/water/lake_partner/).Three different “phosphorus personalities”In 2006, KLSA volunteers measured phosphorus 6 times, from mid-May to earlyOctober, at 41 sites on 16 lakes. As in the past, we found the lakes had 3 distinctphosphorus “personalities”:• Low-phosphorus lakes receive water mostly from the north, and then flow intothe Trent-Severn Waterway. Northern water flows from low-phosphorusCanadian Shield regions. Phosphorus levels in these lakes remain below 10 ppbthroughout the summer;• High-phosphorus lakes receive much of their water from the main Waterwayflow, and also from inflows coming from the south. Southern inflows drain fromland covered in limestone and glacial till, rocks and soil that are higher inphosphorus. Also, lands south of the Kawartha Lakes tend to have more farmsand more urban areas, both sources of high-phosphorus runoff. These lakeshave levels around 10 ppb in the spring, but this rises to over 15 ppb during thesummer;• Marl lakes have a specific chemistry that keeps phosphorus levels near 5 ppbfrom spring to fall (see discussion on marl lakes in KLSA report 2005). Theselakes receive drainage from a calcium carbonate-rich watershed. During partsof the summer, calcium carbonate precipitates out of the water andphosphorus co-precipitates, keeping phosphorus levels very low. The name ofthis powdery precipitate is marl. Sandy Lake could be considered a “classic”marl lake. It has a typical milky appearance during the summer due tosuspended marl precipitate and powdery marl sediments. Some KLSA lakes suchas Chemong and the south ends of Pigeon and Sturgeon Lake also exhibit marltypesediments. However, their lake water has much higher phosphorus levelsthan those seen in Sandy Lake. Is this due to higher phosphorus inputs or dueto less marl precipitation than in Sandy Lake? At this point, it is very difficult18
to estimate how much phosphorus is being removed from our lakes throughmarl precipitation, but it is probably a significant amount in certain areas.Three Phosphorus Personalities: Low-phosphorus Lake, High-phosphorusLake, and Marl Lake2520TP, ppb (ug/L)1510low phigh pmarl50June 1 July 1 Aug 1 Sep 1Changing as we flow: phosphorus levels vary from lake to lakeAs the water flows downstream from Balsam to Katchewanooka Lake (see graphs“Low-phosphorus Lakes”, “Upstream Lakes”, “Midstream Lakes”, “Downstream Lakes”),we see phosphorus levels gradually change. The two main conclusions we can drawfrom these graphs are:• The phosphorus level rises as water flows downstream from Balsam to Lovesick.It then drops somewhat in Stony Lake due to low-phosphorus water flowing infrom Upper Stoney Lake, rising again slightly in Clear and Katchewanooka;• Shallow areas of the lakes (south end of Pigeon and Sturgeon, around Nogie’sCreek, South Bay on Upper Stoney, south end of Chemong), which are usuallysurrounded by wetland regions, tend to have higher phosphorus levels. Is thisdue to rich sediments, or to input from nearby agricultural lands or wetlands,high concentrations of wildlife on and near the water, or some other cause?19
Page 1: Kawartha Lake Stewards AssociationW
Page 4 and 5: Table of ContentsPresident’s Mess
Page 6 and 7: President’s Message2007 will be t
Page 8 and 9: species-at-risk and shoreline and i
Page 10: There are 3 different “phosphorus
Page 13 and 14: Map of the Kawartha Lakes 2006 Test
Page 15 and 16: subsequently deposited formations n
Page 17 and 18: These problems were solved with the
Page 19: Burleigh fallsThe cataracts effecti
Page 23 and 24: levels of these two inflows. Big Ba
Page 25 and 26: Low Phosphorus Lakes35.0030.0025.00
Page 27 and 28: The high flow/low phosphorus theory
Page 29 and 30: Phosphorus Levels over 5 Years (eac
Page 31 and 32: Flow vs Phosphorus, 200530030Flow,
Page 33 and 34: Many other sources of phosphorus to
Page 35 and 36: eductions in phosphorus discharges
Page 37 and 38: Ontario’s Natural Resources and V
Page 39 and 40: the Base Flow Index (BFI) and perce
Page 41 and 42: systems and animal feces (beef, pou
Page 43 and 44: ANOVA analysis as no suitable data
Page 45 and 46: 3530Phosphorus (µg/l)252015105a ab
Page 47 and 48: How Much Algae Sticks to Macrophyte
Page 49 and 50: sites for both lakes (Pigeon Lake S
Page 51 and 52: The results from our initial survey
Page 53 and 54: Are our lakes at risk of switching
Page 55 and 56: Generally, then, the water in the K
Page 59 and 60: Appendix A:KLSA Mission Statement,
Page 61 and 62: Appendix B: Financial PartnersParks
Page 63: Date Expenses04-Jan-06 Bank Fees 3.
Page 68 and 69: At your request, subject to applica
Page 70 and 71:
Lake-by-Lake E.coli ResultsTo put t
Page 72 and 73:
To put the results in perspective:
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LAKE NAME Site Description DateSecc
Page 86 and 87:
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Page 90 and 91:
Appendix G: GlossaryAquatic plants
Page 92 and 93:
plants. In the Kawartha Lakes area,
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