The water quality committee has completed a mid-summer water quality report which you can read here: 2019 mid-summer report. Also more information can be found in the Water Quality section of this website.

In summary, the water quality committee has been out on the lake about 10 times this season checking the water quality.  You may have noticed that the water clarity is lower than usual. Water clarity can change for several reasons. This year one big influencer of lower clarity is our wet spring and the resulting increase in nutrients (especially phosphorus) that was washed into the lake.

The team has also attended the  annual Lake Stewards of Maine Lake Monitoring Conference to learn more about to best monitor Watchic water quality. From the conference, they learned that what we are observing on our lake is typical for lakes in Maine.  The lakes are in a delicate balance with their environment and climate change is definitely having and will continue to have a major impact on our lakes.

The team has documented a series of Metaphyton algal blooms. Metaphyton is cotton candy-like algae that usually floats near the top of the shallow water, but can get stuck in lake vegetation and accumulate. It is not harmful, but unpleasant to swim in. This spring large accumulations of Metaphyton were reported just north of the Kiwanis Beach, in the mouth of Page Brook, and near the mouth of Paine Brook. We will continue to monitor the areas and the rest of the lake for metaphyton.  These algae, like most others, are fueled by extra nutrient entering the lake, most likely from storm run-off or septic tank issues. More good reasons to keep water from running into the lake.

Click or touch here to check out the Full 2019 mid-summer report.