2009 OCTOBER WATER MONITORING SUMMARY

The water testing for October was completed 10-20-09. The forms and data readings recorded during this test event can be found on the following web site: http://Lakeside.homeserver.com (5am-11pm EDT). The colorimeter results of the Phosphorous and Nitrate tests will be provided later as will the Chlorophyll test results from our external lab and the lake level data provide by Cranston Print. A copy of the summary report is included below.

October Water Testing Report

October Streams Testing Report

Testing of the streams was performed on Oct 16th. The calibration process for the Troll went without any issues. The weather was overcast with very light snow fall followed by clearing cold air. The air temperature was approximate 38 degrees during the test period. The weather leading up to the test day was cooler than normal with only light rainfall amounts. Water temperature across all streams was in the low to mid 40’s. The stream flows in general were light. One observation that was noted about this testing season is that none of the streams ran dry this summer as has happened with all but one of the streams in prior years.

A Troll snapshot of readings was taken at the runoff area at the corner of Lakeside Ave. and Wakefield Ave. Tests have been captured at this site for the whole summer, and this year, unlike past years, it ran all season and did not run dry. The readings at this site have been within normal ranges for all values tested. Slightly elevated turbidity readings were seen in the wettest part of the season but the readings were consistent with what might be expected given this is a runoff stream.

An unusual sighting of a flock of 6 ducks was observed in Sucker Brook above the bridge on Mine Brook Rd. Sucker Brook showed slightly elevated turbidity levels of 3.0 NTU which appeared to be related to algae growth. pH, Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen(RDO), Nitrogen, Oxygen Reduction Potential (ORP), all tested normal for this site.

Mine Brook was very clear with a turbidity of 0.0 NTU. Conductivity (Salinity), measured very low which is excellent. pH, Conductivity, RDO, Nitrogen, and ORP values were all consistent with historic values from Mine Brook.

Browns Brook is tested in two places. At the test site LKQ20 near LKQ Corp., Browns Brook above the LKQ20 site was observed to be clear. The outflow from LKQ Corp. showed higher flow then is normally seen from that location. Additionally, the water that was flowing from this feeder was very brown indicating significant sediment in the water. The turbidity for this outflow tested at 167 NTU which is very high even for this site which usually tests high. All other test values showed as normal for the site.

Observations at the second Browns Brook site BB18 below the bridge at Gore Rd., indicated cloudy gray water color. This has never been observed at this site before. Turbidity tested at 12 NTU which is higher than any other test value recorded at the BB18 site over the last 5 years. All other values tested normal with RDO reading over 12 mg/L which indicates the water is well oxygenated. The team decided to try to isolate the source of the cloudy water at BB18. There is one addition feeder stream called Unnamed Brook that enters Browns Brook between LKQ20 and BB18. This feeder used to be tested in the past but testing was discontinued because it was felt that any issues in Unnamed Brook would show up in Browns Brook and could be isolated if issues arose. The team drove to the area where Browns Brook and Unnamed join and two members of the team walked in and observed that the water entering Browns Brook from Unnamed Brook was clear and the water coming down Browns Brook from the LKQ20 site was in-fact the source of all the cloudiness in the water as observed at the BB18 site.

October Lake Testing Report

Due to snowy weather, the lake testing was rescheduled from October 18th to the 20th. The weather on the rescheduled date was sunny, with little wind, and thus turned out to be a perfect day for testing. Rescheduling was only possible since we now have our own Troll 9500. In the past, the testing had to be performed sometimes in bad weather because the Troll had to be turned over to the next group that was sharing it. Testing was completed faster than usual because the wind and water was very calm which allowed instruments to settle quicker. All of the equipment worked well which also contributed to a shorter test time. The weather in the 48 hours prior to this set of water tests was windy, with snow and rain. The total rainfall across the prior 2 days was 1.5” of rainfall. The weather during testing was sunny, light winds, and the air temperature ranged from 51-54 degrees during the test period.

The lake water level was well below normal. It was indicated that the lake was drawn down to facilitate a wall repair and then the lack of rain has not yet replenished it. Special care has to be taken when navigating near the shallow areas of the lake. No thermo clines were found in any of the 3 ponds. Clarity of the water ranged from a viewable depth, using the Secchi Disk, of 13.6ft. in South Pond, 20.5ft. in Middle Pond, and 23.2ft. in North Pond. Water temperatures were consistently in the 50-52 degree range across all three ponds at all depths from the surface to the bottom. pH, Conductivity, and ORP, all indicated normal readings. Turbidity showed a very slight elevated level for the historic norms. All readings were less than 1 NTU but these values were somewhat higher than normal. This is likely due to the heavier than norm algae levels that existed due to the unusual weather this past summer. Dissolved Oxygen levels have fully recovered in the lake and now show readings in the 9-11 mg/L range at all depths from the surface to the bottom. A malfunction occurred with the Nitrate sensor causing all readings for North Pond to read off scale and should be discarded. It was likely due to the sensor getting into an error state when the Troll was brought out of sleep mode before performing the tests at North Pond. The sensor performed correctly when the Troll was again brought out of sleep mode to perform the post field tap water test after completing the lake testing. The readings displayed on the handheld appeared to be normal during the testing. The snapshot values the Troll recorded did not agree with the displayed values and were off scale. This issue will be discussed with the manufacturer of the Troll.

A light-green algae was observed on the bottom in several shallow areas. Milfoil was also observed growing at one of the shallow areas in North Pond. This shallow area is well away from the shore in the North East area of North Pond and likely has never been treated. Several of the testers reported seeing similar algae near their docks. A blue green colored algae was observed near Ernie Pinot’s dock.

The October Colorimeter testing of the water samples for Phosphorus and Nitrates have been completed and the results are now on the web site at URL: http://Lakeside.homeserver.com (5am-11pm EDT)

The Lake level charts and the external lab results for Chlorophyll will be added when they become available.

November Plans

October was the last month for testing on the lake. We are planning to test the streams in November, weather permitting.


Al Huefner
82 Lakeside Ave
Webster, Ma. 01570
(H)508-461-9775 (New 6/20/09)
(C)847-971-8190
email: HuefnerAL@aol.com
website: http://Lakeside.homeserver.com (5am-11pm EDT)