2024 Spring Water Quality
Welcome back to the lakes everyone! Our Spring water quality numbers are here and looking good to start off the 2024 season. Our Dissolved Oxygen numbers are lower from last year across the chart in all areas of the lakes. This could be due to the warmer water temperatures already being recorded. Our E.coli numbers are still high at the Grass Lake Road testing site, but do come down to healthy ranges once the water is filtered through the vegetation in Betts Ditch. The Phosphorus levels are still registering consistently below legal limits. While some numbers are higher than last year, our suspended solids levels are still below testing limits. And, if you have been on the lakes lately, you can see the water clarity is wonderful. Lastly, our Nitrogen numbers are lower in the lakes and the ditch from the previous year. That is a good sign for limiting excessive plant growth. Thank you for taking the time to look at these reports. - Lake Health Committee
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.
Phosphorus promotes excessive aquatic plant growth. Phosphorus originates from a variety of sources, many of which are related to human activities. Major sources include human and animal wastes, soil erosion, detergents, septic systems and runoff from farmlands or lawns.
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.
