Lake Blue Watershed Investigation
This project was created to investigate what happens in the Lake Blue watershed and how it can impact the quality of the lake’s water. Lake Blue is a small, closed-basin lake located in the town of Lake Placid, adjacent to Lake Clay. Although only 15 acres in size, this lake is actually quite deep, maxing out at 35 feet. In past years, there have been personal accounts of the water being crystal clear, with transparencies of 15 feet or more. In more recent years, however, those tales have long been forgotten, replaced by first-hand accounts of murky, greenish water. So the question arises: What has caused this to happen in Lake Blue?
The investigation that is currently taking place includes testing water quality in the lake, water quality in the watershed, storm water sampling, seepage water sampling, and continuous weather data recording. Monthly samples are being collected from the lake and from monitoring wells, which were placed in August of 2007. The remote weather station was installed on the dock of a very accommodating Lake Blue resident in August of 2007, with data being downloaded from the station every week. Seepage meters were installed in the bottom of the lake in June of 2007, and are monitored every month. Storm water sampling will only take place when it appears that a regular cycle of substantial storms will provide runoff into the lake from the surrounding residential and commercial neighborhoods.
There are several factors involved in determining sources of pollution in any water body. In Lake Blue’s watershed, the potential sources of nutrient loading include runoff from residential lawns and citrus groves, as well as septic tank leakage and storm water introductions. It is most important to locate the potential sources that can be improved to minimize impact to the lake.
The residents of Lake Blue are updated regularly with results of testing and educated further on methods of minimizing impact. Please call our office, at 402-6545, with any questions regarding this investigation.