July Lake Testing Report

Sue Sazama and I conducted the testing the last week of July as required. Here is a summary of the key results: 1) Lake level is up about 3-4 inches from all of the rain the past month. 2) While I am sure pockets of Southern Naiad can be found around the lake (Brett mentioned there is some in the bay by his cabin), there was no large areas of growth in  the lake like we had seen in the past. There are areas where this plant is present on the bottom but it appears in "control." I believe the brown color from tannin in the lake is stifling this plants growth. 3) Light penetration has increased - a secchi disk reading of 12 feet in July versus 9.5 feet in June. The water is clear but stained brown. 4) Dissolved oxygen levels were nearly the same as in June. Good levels down to 20 feet but essentially zero from 20 feet to the bottom (30 feet). 5) Phosphorus and chlorophyll samples were taken and sent to the State Hygiene Lab for analysis but no results are back yet.   We have one more test to perform in August and then we are done for the year. At this point I am NOT planning to do the annual invasive species testing because of the COVID-19 but will start it again in 2021.