Lake Water Quality 2006 Report - Lakefield Herald

Phosphorus and the Kawartha Lakes:Land Use, Lake Morphology and Phosphorus Loadingby Michael WhiteThe following document was prepared for the Kawartha Lake Stewards Association toaddress concerns over possible elevated phosphorus concentrations in the KawarthaLakes. The project was undertaken by Michael White, Ph.D. candidate in theWatershed Ecosystems Graduate Program (WEGP) at Trent University, Peterborough,in partial fulfillment of a reading course requirement supervised by Dr. MargueriteXenopoulos.Editor’s Note: In the 2005 KLSA report, Weeding Out the Answers, Michael Whiteintroduced his study of sources of phosphorus in the Kawartha Lakes. The section(most of Chapter 1) included in the 2005 report described the problem of nutrientenrichment of the lakes, primarily from human-induced sources, and the resultingturbidity due to algae growth. The full study addressed the following questions:1. What are the land use characteristics of the Kawartha Lakes watersheds?2. Is land use correlated with phosphorus concentrations in lakes within theKawartha Lakes watershed?3. What lake morphological variables are correlated with phosphorusconcentrations?4. Have phosphorus levels been increasing or decreasing in the lakes within theKawartha Lakes watershed?5. What patterns in lake phosphorus concentrations can be determined from thearchived data?Excerpts of Chapters 2-6 of Michael White’s report are included here. The fullreport can be accessed at the Oliver Ecological Centre website:www.trentu.ca/olivercentre.Chapter 2: Watershed land classification and delineationThe first step in determining land use relationships with lake phosphorusconcentrations is establishing where and what kinds of land use are prevalent. Thischapter is devoted to determining both the quantity and location of quaternary(MNR’s most detailed watershed delineation) watersheds, and the land use withineach.34