Volunteer Lake Monitoring

The Watershed Council has coordinated and sponsored the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program for over 20 years. Presently, volunteers monitor 35 lakes spread throughout Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, and Montmorency Counties (map below). The objectives of the program are to collect baseline data, characterize lake ecosystems, identify specific water quality problems, determine water quality trends, and, most importantly, inform and educate the public regarding water quality issues and aquatic ecology. Monitoring water quality does not ensure clean water, but rather provides valuable information to help protect and improve water quality in the lakes of northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

Lakes in Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program

• Bass
• Black
• Burt
• Lake Charlevoix: Main Basin and South Arm
• Crooked Lake
• Deer Lake
• Douglas Lake - Cheboygan Co.
• Douglas Lake - Otsego Co.
• Elk Lake and Skegemog Lake
• Huffman Lake
• Marion Lake
• Lake Michigan Bay Harbor and Little Traverse Bay
• Mullett Lake
• Munro
• Paradise Lake
• PPickerel Lake
• Six Mile Lake
• Thayer
• Thumb Lake (Lake Louise)
• Twin Lake
• Walloon Lake: Foot, North, West, and Wildwood Basins

Lake Characterization and Trophic Status

All lakes undergo a natural "aging" process called eutrophication. Lakes formed from glaciers are often very deep, with cold water, low levels of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen), and low biological productivity (relatively little aquatic life). As a lake "ages", nutrient accumulation in the lake water and bottom sediments leads to greater biological productivity. Greater biological productivity leads to increased deposition of organic matter, which, combined with sediments that wash in during rain storms or snowmelt, cause the lake to become shallower and water temperatures to rise. In a natural setting this process occurs very slowly with little or no apparent change over the course of a human lifetime.

Human activities in a watershed often greatly accelerate the natural aging process of lakes by contributing additional nutrients and sediment. The acceleration of the process is called 'cultural eutrophication'. When excessive nutrients are added to a lake, aquatic plants and algae thrive, resulting in excessive growth and large blooms. Excessive plant growth and large algae blooms can make swimming undesirable, make boating difficult and lead to the formation of 'dead zones'. Dead zones are areas in a water body devoid of aquatic life due to dissolved oxygen depletion. Although aquatic plants and algae contribute oxygen to the ecosystem during day-time photosynthetic activities, they consume oxygen during the night while respiring, which (with excessive plant growth) can result in oxygen depletion. Increased sediment contributions from erosion, construction activities, and other human activity also accelerate the aging process.

Data collected by volunteers in the Volunteer Lake Monitoring program are used by Watershed Council staff to determine the current level of productivity or the "trophic status" of a lake. Lakes are classified according to their trophic status, which ranges from oligotrophic (low productivity) to eutrophic (high productivity). In general, oligotrophic lakes are considered to have high water-quality, mesotrophic lakes have moderate water quality and eutrophic lakes have poor water quality. However, keep in mind that eutrophic lakes occur naturally during the aging process and do not necessarily reflect poor water quality.

Putting the Data to Work

The hard work of dedicated volunteers over the last twenty years has produced a wealth of information about water quality of the lakes in our region. One method used by Watershed Council staff to determine lake water quality is the calculation of the trophic status using Carlson's Trophic Status Index (TSI). This index utilizes Secchi disk depth recordings and chlorophyll-a measurements collected by volunteer monitors to calculate a lake score that ranges from 0-100. Lakes that score at the low end of the scale (TSI values ranging from 0-38), are considered to be oligotrophic with excellent water quality. A TSI score of 39-49 indicates a mesotrophic lake with good water quality and a TSI value of 50 or greater is considered to be a eutrophic lake with poor water quality.

Seasonal averages for Secchi disc depth and chlorophyll-a concentrations are used to calculate TSI values, but data spanning multiple years is preferable because of the great influence that environmental factors, such as weather, can have on index values.

Volunteer Lake Water Quality Monitoring Database

In addition, data collected in the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program has been entered into a comprehensive database and is available for download (in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) by clicking on the following link:

VLM Comprehensive Water Quality Monitoring Database

The Future of the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program

Through an agreement with the DNR in 1992, the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, Inc. (ML&SA) began coordinating volunteer lake monitoring programs throughout the State. As of 2008, Secchi depth, chlorophyll-a, and phosphorus data from up to 170 lakes were collected by volunteer monitors in the ML&SA Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program. The Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program is quite similar to the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program, but due to the longevity and success of our program, the benefits of localized program administration, and our commitment to and strong relationships with lake associations and riparian owners throughout our service area, the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council will continue to coordinate all program activities into the foreseeable future. On the other hand, through participation and collaboration with the recently formed Michigan Clean Water Corps, volunteer monitoring activities coordinated by the Watershed Council will merge to some extent with those occurring throughout the State.

Many beautiful high-quality lakes are being monitored by volunteers throughout the northern Lower Peninsula as a result of the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program. Nevertheless, there is always a need for more volunteers to monitor additional lakes and to substitute or replace existing volunteers. Volunteering to be a monitor requires attending a half-day training session and then performing 1-4 hours of monitoring duties on a weekly basis from early June to late August (though some volunteers opt to start in May and continue until September or even October!). If you are interested in volunteering time to help monitor lake water quality, please contact Kevin Cronk, Monitoring and Research Coordinator at (231) 347-1181 or by email at kevin@watershedcouncil.org .