Lake Water Quality 2006 Report - Lakefield Herald

Bacteria TestingWhat we did2006 was KLSA’s sixth year of testing for E.coli bacteria. In total, our volunteerstested 116 sites on 14 lakes, and each site was tested up to 6 times through thesummer. Please see the basic rationale for testing and the complete results inAppendix E. Samples were taken to SGS Lakefield Research for analysis.What we foundFor Lake-by-Lake results with commentary, please see Appendix E.Generally, E.coli counts on all the lakes tested were very low throughout the summer,indicating excellent recreational water quality. The 111 sites that were testedregularly (4 or more times) could be classified as follows:Site ClassificationNumberof sitesComments“Very Clean ”: no readings 77 This indicates very clean surface water.above 20 E.coli/100 mL“Clean”: 1 or 2 readingsbetween 21 and 100E.coli/100 mL, plus 0 or 1reading over 100E.coli/100 mL“Slightly elevated”: 3readings between 21 and100 E.coli/100 mL, plus 0or 1 reading over 100E.coli/100 mL“Needing Observation”: 4to 6 readings between 21and 100 E.coli/100 mL,AND/OR 2 or morereadings over 10023 It is normal for Kawartha Lakes to havethe occasional reading over 20.3 All sites were near shallow areas withplentiful wildlife.8 Probable causes of these higher counts:• drainage from agricultural area:Sturgeon WS1 and SB1, Balsam A1• high levels of waterfowl: Balsam A1,Sturgeon 2, White 1 and 2• near inflow from large wetland area:Lower Buckhorn 3, 4A and 4B• narrow bay with reduced circulation:Stony 2752