Water Report - 2020

2020 Water Report

We work with the State’s Department of Environmental Services on their Volunteer Lake Assessment Program (VLAP). We normally sample 3-times a year, once each in the months of June, July, and August, one of which is with the state’s participation  This year, because of the virus, the state is not doing any sampling, but they are, with many precautions, analyzing the samples we supply but at a reduced level.  So we will only be testing twice this year.

Anyone would like to observe the process can observe on August 12^th.  We are open to anyone who wants to take over the water testing.  It is a good way to get involved with a minimal commitment of just 3 mornings a year, two of them for just an hour.

The state’s assessment is that our lake is in the top of their categories.  Our data varies some from year, but they report there is no significant trend other than a decrease in pH level last year.  This means our lake is slightly acidic.  This is common to lakes in NH and is normally attributed to acid rain or beaver activity.  In our case, the worst pH readings are at the SW inlet and the best readings are at the outlet, indicating that the acidity improves in our lake.

NH Lakes has forecasted that Cyanobacteria can be a problem this year.  This is a single-celled bacterium that can produce toxins that adversely affect livestock, domestic animals, and humans. Cyanobacteria blooms may look like pea soup or antifreeze, or like someone dumped greenish-blue paint into the water. Blooms could also smell like grass.  With increased activity on our lakes, combined with a warm winter, NH LAKES is expecting to see even more reports of cyanobacteria blooms this summer than in previous years.