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 2022) | 171,291 |
| # of Sites |
Current Ambient Lake Sites
| SiteID | Site | County |
|---|
Lake Water Quality Summary 2000 to 2022
Summary statistics last calculated 8/23/2023 9:07:44 AM
| Analyte | Units | # Results | Min | 10th Percentile | 25th Percentile | Median | 75th Percentile | 90th Percentile | Max | Max Sample Date | % Non-detection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammonia | mg/l | 7,391 | Not calculated when non-detections exceed 50% | 50.62 | |||||||
| Ammonia-nitrogen | mg/l | 8,594 | <0 | <0.008265 | <0.016 | 0.05 | 0.13 | 0.21 | 1.734 | 8/11/2004 | 44.46 |
| Calcium carbonate | mg/l | 4,272 | 9 | 81 | 97 | 124 | 157 | 192 | 485 | 8/6/2018 | 0.00 |
| Chlorophyll a | ug/l | 8,363 | <0 | 3.5 | 8.1135 | 23 | 47 | 89.98 | 743 | 8/3/2005 | 6.37 |
| Depth, Secchi disk depth | m | 10,138 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.48 | 0.77 | 1.4 | 2.55 | 10 | 7/21/2015 | 0.00 |
| Dissolved oxygen (DO) | mg/l | 9,949 | 0.3 | 5.88379 | 7.22 | 8.7 | 10.31 | 12.5 | 30.2 | 5/23/2011 | 0.00 |
| Dissolved oxygen saturation | % | 7,921 | 4 | 69 | 86 | 103 | 123.5 | 152 | 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 | 10,013 | <0 | <1.2 | <2.6 | 4 | 8.7 | 17 | 378 | 5/31/2011 | 25.33 |
| Kjeldahl nitrogen | mg/l | 6,624 | <0.1 | 0.5386 | 0.83246 | 1.18 | 1.7 | 2.35 | 12.92 | 8/8/2011 | 6.91 |
| Microcystin | ug/l | 2,091 | Not calculated when non-detections exceed 50% | 62.75 | |||||||
| Nitrate + Nitrite | mg/l | 10,019 | <0 | <0.04 | <0.06 | 0.16 | 0.67 | 3.84932 | 24.53 | 5/14/2013 | 48.76 |
| Orthophosphate | mg/l | 9,206 | Not calculated when non-detections exceed 50% | 63.01 | |||||||
| pH | None | 10,048 | 6.5 | 7.89 | 8.14 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 9 | 11.3 | 8/17/2020 | 0.00 |
| Phycocyanin | ug/l | 2,301 | <1.8 | <7 | 17.29 | 51.09104 | 110.2 | 181.14304 | 11107.53 | 6/28/2022 | 11.82 |
| Specific conductance | uS/cm | 10,074 | 0.202 | 220 | 270 | 351.01667 | 458 | 565.7 | 1361 | 7/11/2000 | 0.00 |
| Temperature, water | deg C | 10,104 | 7 | 17.8 | 21.3 | 24.1 | 26.3 | 27.8 | 33.8 | 7/9/2002 | 0.00 |
| Total dissolved solids | mg/l | 6,300 | 0.3 | 140 | 170 | 218 | 290 | 349.07 | 800 | 9/14/2020 | 0.00 |
| Total Phosphorus, mixed forms | mg/l | 9,770 | <0 | 0.0274 | 0.0446 | 0.076 | 0.13 | 0.2177 | 2.8 | 7/25/2007 | 1.98 |
| Total suspended solids | mg/l | 10,155 | <0 | 3.6 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 34 | 452 | 5/31/2011 | 6.08 |
| Turbidity | NTU | 9,868 | <0 | 2.6 | 6 | 13 | 27 | 53 | 2333 | 8/7/2000 | 1.32 |
| 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 |