I have archived the July 2023 water level chart (above, and at left). The most notable thing about July was Holy Hannah did it rain! I thought we got a lot of rain in May with 5.40 inches and then we got even more rain in June, 5.51 inches in fact. I thought that was a lot of rain and then we got 8.2 inches of rain in July (normal is 3.54 inches).  For the year we’re 10+ inches ahead of normal rainfall for this date. Things are a little soggy, to say the least! One unsurprising effect of all this rain is that the lake level this summer, with minor exceptions, has remained at or above the top of the dam for several months- quite different from the past few summers. We started July with the lake level at  the top of the dam (-0.29′ below the HWM) and ended it even higher, almost 3 inches above the top of the dam (-0.05′ below the HWM).

While lake water quality has remained high so far this summer (see “24 July 2023: Midsummer Water Quality Update“) all th rain we got in April, May, June, and July has resulted in a lot of sediment washing into Clary Lake and that will likely cause problems for us later this month or in early September. The reasons are two fold. First, sediment carries Phosphorus into the lake which feeds algae growth. Second, anaerobic (low oxygen) conditions in deeper water cause Phosphorus stored in the bottom sediments to reenter the water. As long as that Phosphorus stays near the bottom, it’s not a problem but in the fall when the lake turns over, this Phosphorus rich water will mix with the upper layers where algae live, and this can spur out of control algae growth. This is why most severe algae blooms occur in the fall. The bloom we had last fall was in part due to this phenomena. There were other extenuating circumstances.

Kelsie and I will be back out on the lake the end of this week for another water quality monitoring session. Stay tuned for another water quality update!