Invitation to Participate in the Water Monitoring Program

New Recruits Needed 

• Are you concerned about our environment? 
• Is the water quality of Lac Le Jeune of concern to you? 
• Can you spare a few hours per year to help on the completion of this important project? 

If you can answer yes to these questions you will be welcome to join us. There is no special scientific background required as all necessary information is supplied on site and printed sheets.

We are entering the fourth and final year of the Water Monitoring Program at Lac Le Jeune. We have had a dedicated group of volunteers working on this for the past three years but have had some unavoidable attrition among our members this year and would really appreciate it if those vacancies could be filled.

To effectively and fairly distribute the scheduling of volunteers throughout the monitoring period (from ice off to ice on) we require at least 15 people. Since we carry out the testing a minimum of twelve times per monitoring period, each volunteer can expect to have 3 or 4, two hour shifts, throughout this period.

Water safety is essential, so for the testing on the big lake we like to have three people and two boats employed for each testing period and two people and a single boat on the little lake.

Wherever possible both lakes are done sequentially on the same day. The sampling time preferred by the MOE is between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. The schedule occasionally has to be changed up or down a day in order to avoid poor weather but is the exception rather than the rule.

A summary of what is involved in the sampling and testing: 

Once on the lake the air temperature, wind direction and strength, barometric pressure, and surface water temperature are noted and recorded.

The Secchie disc (an 8” diameter weighted disc in an alternating white and black pattern) is lowered through the water column till it can no longer be seen. This depth is recorded as the Secchi Depth and is used in the criteria for collecting samples at a later stage in the process. It provides a good indicator of the depth to which light penetrates. This depth changes with the season, light conditions and numerous environmental factors throughout the year.

A probe, which measures: Temperature, conductivity (hardness of the water), and Oxygen concentration in % and mg/L, is lowered through the water column stopping at 0.5 m, 1.0 m and every metre thereafter to the bottom. The four measurements noted above are recorded at each level providing a vertical profile of information.

Water samples are taken at specific depths calculated from the data provided by both the secchi depth and the meter readings. These samples are divided and processed as prescribed by the MOE protocol and are sent for analysis yielding information on concentration of Nitrates, Phosphates, and Chlorophyll “a”. In addition one of the samples is preserved so that plankton and algae species can be identified and quantified. When all the test results are combined they provide an effective reference with respect to the state of health of our lakes and are invaluable in developing strategies for managing the quality of our water and the continuing excellence of our fishery for years to come.

Contact Hugh Burton at Phone: 250-314-6760 or email: hughlejeune@telus.net

~submitted by Hugh Burton~