Lake Services
Our experienced staff is happy to meet with individuals or groups to help you with the following:
| Develop monitoring programs |
| Interpret sampling results |
| Onsite Sampling |
| Volunteer Training |
| Lake trend analysis |
| Management recommendations |
| Educational presentations: water quality, safe drinking water, Aquatic Invasive Species, and more… |
“A.W. Research provides top quality expertise and immediate response to our communications, questions and concerns. The Deer Lake Association highly recommends this lab!”
~Holly Newton Deer Lake Association
Lake Association Well Testing Program
A.W. Research Laboratories is partnering with lake associations and conservation groups to encourage local residents to test their drinking water to make sure it is safe to drink.
Lake association members and residents of participating lakes can purchase a Prepaid Safe Drinking Water kit at a discounted rate. The results from all participants are compiled into a brief summary report to the association including maps depicting the results for each well tested. The association is responsible for promoting the program through their newsletter, meetings, website, etc. A.W. Research Labs provides everything else!
Successful programs typically involve our staff attending an annual meeting, pancake breakfast, summer picnic, etc. to give a brief presentation about the program. Sampling kits are available for purchase at this meeting and can either be returned at a set date and time arranged through the association, or can be brought by homeowners directly to our lab during business hours.
This program can be customized to fit your association’s unique schedule and summer events!
For more information:
Sarah Fogderud
Client Services Manager
Winter Sampling
The purpose of winter sampling is to assess water quality when the lake is buffered from atmospheric influences. During the winter months, algae and other aquatic vegetation settles to the bottom and decays, as a result, the concentrations of total phosphorous and other nutrients at lower depths increase. At the point in the decomposition process when the dissolved oxygen is used up in the bottom waters, the bacterial species shift to anaerobic. When this occurs, nutrients contained in the sediments go back into solution dissolving in the water. This condition is referred to as anoxic. Under anoxic conditions, phosphorous is released from bottom sediments, resulting in even higher concentrations of phosphorous. Therefore, the samples collected provide a “worst case” record of nutrient levels in the lake.
Winter Sampling provides an excellent record of nutrient levels in the lake that can be used to track trends over time. We typically recommend completing winter sampling every 2-3 years. While sampling lakes in the summer is important, winter conditions are more consistent from year to year and therefore sampling results are more comparable over time.
Profile Sampling
Winter sampling typically involves collecting samples at the deepest location. A specially designed sampling device is used to collect samples at each 10-foot depth level from the surface to the bottom of the lake. By analyzing these samples we can put together a “profile” of the water column. Using the volume of the lake and the lab analysis results, we can calculate an approximate total pounds for each nutrient at each depth level of the lake.
Summer Tropic Status Index (TSI) Monitoring
What is Tropic Status Index (TSI)
The Carlson Trophic Status Index (TSI) is a tool used to summarize measurements of water quality into one index value. This value can be used to compare lakes in the same region or as a historical comparison of improvement or degradation over time.
TSI Values are calculated based on 3 measurements:
- Total Phosphorus: Phosphorus is a requirement for plant growth. When phosphorus concentrations are high, large amounts of plant (including algae) growth can be supported. Phosphorus is most often the limiting nutrient, and therefore the most important nutrient to control in order to prevent overgrowth of plant and algae biomass.
- Chlorophyll a: All green plants contain chlorophyll a; therefore, chlorophyll concentrations are used as an estimate of overall plant/algae biomass.
- Secchi Disk: A Secchi Disk is a white metal disk used to measure the clarity or transparency of the water. The depth at which the disk is no longer visible is the Secchi Disk Reading.
Sampling Procedure
We recommend completing this monitoring on a monthly basis from May through September each summer. Volunteers typically collect the samples; however A.W. Research staff can train volunteers or to collect the samples for an additional fee.
- Samples are collected at the deepest hole of the lake. If the lake has multiple deep holes or multiple bays, samples may be collected in several locations.
- At the sampling site, water samples are collected using a 2-meter integrated sampler. This sampling device is simply a 2-meter long pipe used to collect the top portion of the water column for the sample.
- Two sample bottles are filled from the sampler at each site. Bottles are placed immediately into a cooler with ice.
- Next a transparency reading is taken using a Secchi disk. The Secchi disk is lowered into the water until it is no longer visible. The depth is recorded as the transparency (Secchi) reading.
- Samples should be returned to the lab within 24 hours or preserved in the field. Please call our lab if you are unable to drop off your samples within 24 hours and we can make arrangements for field preservation.
Interested in starting a monitoring
program on your lake?
Contact:
Sarah Fogderud
Client Services Manager
TSI Sampling Forms and Information
After several years of sampling data has been collected, we are able to look at the long-term trend of the lake. This graph shows the average TSI for all samples collected for each month during the sampling season. This analysis helps us to understand the nutrient cycle of the lake and identify potential sources of pollution.