Ambient Lake Monitoring
The Ambient Lake Monitoring program samples lakes in Iowa over the summer recreational season. Each lake is sampled three times between May and September: once in early summer, once in mid-summer, and once in late summer/early fall. Data from this project are used to assess the health of our lakes and target individual lakes for restoration and watershed improvement activities. Monitoring is currently completed through a partnership with the Iowa State University Limnology Laboratory.
Current Ambient Lake Sites
| SiteID | Site | County |
|---|
Lake Water Quality Summary 2000 to 2019
Summary statistics last calculated 8/28/2020 2:47:28 PM
| Analyte | Units | # Results | Min | 10th Percentile | 25th Percentile | Median | 75th Percentile | 90th Percentile | Max | Max Sample Date | % Non-detection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammonia | mg/l | 6,330 | <0 | <0 | <0.001 | 0.01 | 0.015 | 0.018 | 0.433 | 7/17/2017 | 47.58 |
| Ammonia-nitrogen | mg/l | 7,506 | <0 | <0.007825 | <0.016 | 0.05 | 0.136 | 0.218 | 1.734 | 8/11/2004 | 48.80 |
| Calcium carbonate | mg/l | 3,211 | 9 | 82 | 98 | 127 | 163 | 197 | 485 | 8/6/2018 | 0.00 |
| Chlorophyll a | ug/l | 7,275 | <0 | 3.314 | 8 | 22 | 45 | 85.96 | 743 | 8/3/2005 | 6.98 |
| Depth, Secchi disk depth | m | 8,673 | 0.05 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 10 | 7/21/2015 | 0.00 |
| Dissolved oxygen (DO) | mg/l | 8,533 | 0.3 | 5.9 | 7.3 | 8.8 | 10.5 | 12.7 | 30.2 | 5/23/2011 | 0.00 |
| Dissolved oxygen saturation | % | 6,505 | 4 | 70 | 87 | 105 | 126.9 | 155.96 | 322 | 8/3/2005 | 0.00 |
| Escherichia coli | MPN/100ml | 730 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 2 | 10 | 19 | 2000 | 6/9/2005 | 44.52 |
| Fixed suspended solids | mg/l | 8,925 | <0 | <1 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 9 | 17 | 378 | 5/31/2011 | 22.60 |
| Inorganic nitrogen (nitrate and nitrite) | mg/l | 9,074 | Not calculated when non-detections exceed 50% | 50.02 | |||||||
| Kjeldahl nitrogen | mg/l | 5,679 | <0.1 | 0.51 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.71 | 2.4 | 12.92 | 8/8/2011 | 5.05 |
| Microcystin | ug/l | 1,136 | Not calculated when non-detections exceed 50% | 64.79 | |||||||
| Orthophosphate | mg/l | 8,118 | Not calculated when non-detections exceed 50% | 62.44 | |||||||
| pH | None | 8,608 | 6.5 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 10.8 | 7/14/2005 | 0.00 |
| Phosphate-phosphorus | mg/l | 8,682 | <0 | 0.028 | 0.0452 | 0.077 | 0.13035 | 0.21799 | 2.8 | 7/25/2007 | 1.53 |
| Phycocyanin | ug/l | 1,213 | <1.8 | <3.3 | 7 | 20.61 | 52 | 117.892 | 4733.81 | 6/11/2019 | 20.94 |
| Specific conductance | uS/cm | 8,634 | 0.202 | 221 | 273 | 361 | 463 | 571 | 1361 | 7/11/2000 | 0.00 |
| Temperature, water | deg C | 8,655 | 7 | 17.7 | 21.2 | 24.1 | 26.3 | 27.8 | 33.8 | 7/9/2002 | 0.00 |
| Total dissolved solids | mg/l | 4,865 | 0.3 | 140 | 175 | 220 | 300 | 350 | 754 | 9/9/2019 | 0.00 |
| Total suspended solids | mg/l | 9,067 | <0 | 4 | 6 | 11.6 | 20 | 34 | 452 | 5/31/2011 | 4.55 |
| Turbidity | NTU | 8,436 | <0 | 3 | 6.755 | 14.2 | 29 | 57 | 2333 | 8/7/2000 | 0.49 |
| Volatile Suspended Solids | mg/l | 7,298 | <0 | <2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 19.3 | 196 | 7/25/2006 | 14.14 |
Project Codes in this Program
| Project Type | Description |
|---|
Program Details
| Results (2000 to 2019) | 147,153 |
| Sites |
Additional Summary Calculations
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| TSI (ChlA) | 66 |
| TSI (Secchi) | 58 |
| TSI (TP) | 72 |