RECENT LAKE MONITORING BLOG POSTS
SECCHI DISK WATER CLARITY MONITORING PROGRAM
The volunteer “Take A Dip” Secchi Disk program was initiated by CLWA in 2010, and has proven to be an important component of the overall water quality monitoring efforts on Canandaigua Lake. Our group of dedicated volunteers provide critical data that notifies us of changes in lake health. Secchi disk volunteers are some of the first to notice a drop in clarity, which can notify us of increased algal productivity on the lake.
Volunteers use their own boats to go out on the lake to take a weekly water clarity reading with a simple black and white secchi disk, and also collect a surface water temperature reading. In addition to their secchi readings, volunteers participate in weekly “Lake User Perception Surveys” to complement data collection performed by the DEC on Canandaigua Lake. Volunteers are documenting changes in the perception of the lake over time, making note of the aquatic plants, algae, and overall aesthetics of the lake.
Learn more about Secchi Disk water clarity monitoring by checking out these slides
THERMOCLINE MONITORING BY VOLUNTEERS
In 2022, CLWA added a pilot project to the secchi disk program to track changes in the water temperature throughout the water column during the summer months. The “Temperature at Depth” study is performed weekly by a subset of seven secchi disk volunteers trained to use digital thermometers to measure water temperature at one-meter intervals, down to 50 meters deep. Data points at these seven locations are graphed to help monitor the lake’s thermocline – which is the transition zone between the warmer upper waters and cooler deeper waters.