Water Quality Update…
Summary of Lake of Bays 2010 Water Quality Report

The 2010 Lake of Bays Water Quality Report prepared by Hutchinson Environmental Sciences Ltd is now available on the LOBA Website. The following is a brief summary of the results.

Total phosphorus concentrations collected by the Lake of Bays Association over the summer of 2010 were of high quality and indicated continued excellent water quality at all sampling sites in the Lake of Bays. The main results of the analyses from 2010 and from previous years are as follows:

1. Total phosphorus concentrations on Lake of Bays are characteristic of lakes with low primary productivity and meet the highest Provincial standards for protection from algae bloom development and were below applicable District Municipality of Muskoka thresholds for phosphorus;
2. The Grubb’s test provides a statistical means to identify extreme values that could influence the evaluation of trends in the data. Evaluation of outliers should be repeated each year.
3. Total phosphorus concentrations were highest in river sites compared to lake sites, as expected due to natural processes;
4. The previously described increasing trend in total phosphorus concentrations did not continue in 2009 and 2010, with values decreasing at nearshore sites and remaining stable at deepwater sites, which suggest that the 2002-2008 increase was due to natural variability.

View the full Report.