Welcome back to the lakes everyone!
We are excited to share our first water quality test results of the season, and the news is great – all tests fall within normal range, indicating normal water conditions.
New Testing Protocols for 2025: Dissolved Oxygen Measurement and Total Phosphorus
This year, Dissolved Oxygen will be reported from a single location only. It is a duplicate testing procedure done with CLMP MiCorp’s. The reported number represents a reading taken at a depth of 1 foot.
We have also stopped testing for Total Phosphorus due to consistently uniform results over time. This test is also a duplicate of CLMP MiCorp’s analysis.
For Comprehensive Data:
If you’re interested in broader data on dissolved oxygen and total phosphorus, please refer to the 2024 CLMP Report for in-depth results.
Thank you, and enjoy your summer by the lakes!
pH is an indication of our lake’s acid level. Neutral water, like distilled water, has a 7 pH level. Any measurement below 7 is considered acidic. Low pH levels affect fish spawning to the point of extinction. For humans, low pH levels increase the concentration of heavy metals like aluminum, zinc, and mercury.
When there are high E. coli counts there are three indicators in a lake to consider rain, large presence of waterfowl, and many people. Rain produces ground water that runs into the lake and carries with it E. coli. Bird feces contribute disease causing bacteria to the water. And, beach areas with many people swimming tend to have higher levels of E. coli.
Dissolved Oxygen (O2) is undoubtedly the most important of the gases, since most aquatic organisms need it to survive. The solubility of oxygen and other gases depends on water temperature. The colder the water, the more gases it can hold. Boiling water removes all gases. Oxygen is produced whenever green plants grow. Plants use carbon dioxide and water to produce simple sugars and oxygen, using sunlight as the energy source.
The Total Suspended Solids numbers relate to water clarity, especially the amount of algae present.
Nitrogen is second only to phosphorus as an important nutrient for plant and algae growth. Precipitation is usually the main nitrogen source for seepage and some drainage lakes. In most cases, however, the amount of nitrogen in lake water corresponds to local land use. Nitrogen may come from fertilizer and animal wastes on agricultural lands, human waste from sewage treatment plants or septic systems, and lawn fertilizers used on lakeshore property. Nitrogen may enter a lake from surface runoff or groundwater sources.