Parameters

Although many nutrients are required by aquatic plants and algae for their growth in lake waters, phosphorus is considered to be in shortest supply relative to the needs of these organisms in Lake Simcoe. Phosphorus is also the nutrient most amenable to control at source and therefore has been targeted for reduced inputs to Lake Simcoe in order to control algal growth in the lake. Chlorophyll a is the green photosynthetic pigment found in most algae and has been used as an index of “abundance” of algae suspended in the water column. Water clarity has been measured with a Secchi disk (a 22 cm diam. black and white disk lowered into the lake on a calibrated rope) and is simply the recorded depth at which the disk is no longer visible to the observer at the lake surface. Shallow readings of the Secchi disk indicate high densities of suspended particles (usually algae). So, lakes with high TP concentrations usually have high concentrations of chlorophyll a and low Secchi disk readings.

Water Quality Targets
Parameters
Sampling Methodologies
Sampling Locations and Data Download