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.
Program Details
| Sampling Results (2000 to 2021) | 155,166 |
| # of Sites |
Current Ambient Lake Sites
| SiteID | Site | County |
|---|
Lake Water Quality Summary 2000 to 2021
Summary statistics last calculated 1/18/2022 7:13:47 AM
| Analyte | Units | # Results | Min | 10th Percentile | 25th Percentile | Median | 75th Percentile | 90th Percentile | Max | Max Sample Date | % Non-detection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammonia | mg/l | 6,972 | <0 | <0 | <0.00093952615 | 0.01 | 0.014 | 0.017 | 0.433 | 7/17/2017 | 49.30 |
| Ammonia-nitrogen | mg/l | 8,175 | <0 | <0.00742 | <0.016 | 0.05 | 0.13 | 0.2117 | 1.734 | 8/11/2004 | 46.72 |
| Calcium carbonate | mg/l | 3,853 | 9 | 81 | 96.69 | 124 | 157 | 192 | 485 | 8/6/2018 | 0.00 |
| Chlorophyll a | ug/l | 7,944 | <0 | 3.5 | 8 | 22.8 | 46.655 | 88 | 743 | 8/3/2005 | 6.65 |
| Depth, Secchi disk depth | m | 8,747 | 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 | 792 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 6130 | 5/27/2020 | 46.46 |
| Fixed suspended solids | mg/l | 9,594 | <0 | <1 | 2.2 | 4 | 8.4 | 17 | 378 | 5/31/2011 | 24.70 |
| Inorganic nitrogen (nitrate and nitrite) | mg/l | 9,743 | <0 | <0.04 | <0.06 | 0.16 | 0.7 | 3.9 | 24.53 | 5/14/2013 | 49.30 |
| Kjeldahl nitrogen | mg/l | 6,348 | <0.1 | 0.52 | 0.82 | 1.17 | 1.7 | 2.35 | 12.92 | 8/8/2011 | 7.21 |
| Microcystin | ug/l | 1,708 | Not calculated when non-detections exceed 50% | 64.81 | |||||||
| Orthophosphate | mg/l | 8,787 | Not calculated when non-detections exceed 50% | 63.50 | |||||||
| 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 | 9,351 | <0 | 0.0273 | 0.0447 | 0.076 | 0.13 | 0.2178 | 2.8 | 7/25/2007 | 2.06 |
| Phycocyanin | ug/l | 1,882 | <1.8 | <4.369 | 13 | 38 | 75.375 | 142.9 | 4733.81 | 6/11/2019 | 14.45 |
| 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 | 9,736 | <0 | 4 | 6 | 11.2 | 20 | 34 | 452 | 5/31/2011 | 5.71 |
| 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
| Code | Description |
|---|
Additional Summary Calculations
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| TSI (ChlA) | 66 |
| TSI (Secchi) | 58 |
| TSI (TP) | 72 |