As nice as as our lake water has been this summer, and it has been nice, there is nonetheless cyanobacteria alive and well living in it. Runoff from all the rain we’ve received has washed sediment into the lake which is the primary source of phosphorus and phosphorus as you know by now is good for algae, bad for lakes. In the featured image above, taken by Jack Holland on the morning of August 10th, the telltale green scum comprised of dead blue-green algae is evident, but not terribly alarming compared to what we’ve seen before, even as recently as the first of June this year.  After Jack sent me his picture, I went down to my shoreline and took the picture at left. The telltale green sheen is so faint and ephemeral as to be easily overlooked. But it’s there. If this is as bad as it gets this year we’ll be very lucky.

I’ve written several times this year about my concerns over our water quality (see “24 July 2023: Midsummer Water Quality Update“). A water sample taken on July 23rd was sent to the State lab for testing. The results showed 22 ug/L (micrograms per liter) of Total Phosphorus in the top 3 meters of the lake. This does not bode well for water quality later this month and into September when the lake turns over. Time will tell.