Florida Lakewatch

Hello Fellow Observer readers.

Isn’t it good having our own Lake Helen (and Cassadaga) newspaper again? I am thankful to Editor Pat Chadwick for this opportunity to explain the purposes of LAKEWATCH (not BAYWATCH!), which some of you may already know, is a team effort in which statewide volunteers work with the University of Florida researchers to collect basic information on the water quality of Florida lakes. But what kind of information and why?

Florida LAKEWATCH was enacted by the Florida legislature to train, supervise and coordinate volunteers to collect water quality samples from our Florida lakes. The data collected and compiled are used to establish water quality trends over time, trends which may reflect a given lake’s stability or declining health.

Water quality, that is, a water body’s ability to sustain well balanced, naturally occurring life forms (plants, fish and other aquatic life) is determined by the amount of nutrients, principally phosphorus and nitrogen, in the water and how they affect chlorophyll (algae) production and water clarity.

It is correct to say that the more phosphorus and nitrogen present, the greater the amount of chlorophyll (green stuff) and the lesser the water clarity. A healthy lake has some nutrients to feed the “food chain” but not too little or too much. Florida lakes have always varied in their nutrients, chlorophyll and clarity depending on latitude, climate, rainfall, surface runoff, underground water flow, local soils, vegetation, and so on. Of course, man’s activities have greatly affected water quality variables in many of Florida’s lakes.

At the extremes, a lake with little or no nutrients will likely have low chlorophyll production and very clear waters while a nutrient-laden lake will tend to yield heavy chlorophyll production and murky waters. The former waters are termed “oligotrophic” and lack the nutrients to support much aquatic life. The latter extreme, “hypertrophic” waters tend to support overabundant life with plant growth choking out open waters. Most Florida lakes are “mesotrophic” (moderate biotic production) or “eutrophic” (fairly high biotic production).

Putting the big words aside, it seems obvious that we would want to avoid extremes in our water quality. Presently, testing in Lake Helen Lake indicates a reasonably healthy trophic (nutrient) balance.

So there you have it. Sampling and testing Lake Helen Lake is what Mary Heebner and I (with help from Joan Gunby and the Kifners) have been doing for the past couple of years. Bill and Lois Dill have been testing Lake Macy.

LAKEWATCH provides periodic reports on our data which we continue to share with the City Commission and City Administrator. We will, of course, advise them of any trend changes which may reflect adverse water quality.

At this point some may ask why I have made no mention of water quality in terms of public safety for such uses as swimming. Certainly issues of coloroform bacteria counts and water pollution are concerns. In fact, however, these issues are not directly addressed by the LAKEWATCH program, but are the purview of other state and local agencies. Past testing by the City of Lake Helen indicated favorable conditions for Lake Helen Lake; however, local pollution conditions may come and go and swimming in Florida lakes is at one’s own risk.

To my knowledge no one is consistently testing water quality on lakes Harlan, Colby or the downstream chain of lakes feeding the St. Johns River. If you would like to do monthly LAKEWATCH monitoring (on about the first of each month), please call me (228-3910) or Mary Heebner (228-2869). If we can get about five volunteers I will arrange a training session by a state biologist. LAKEWATCH serves your environment and community and it is a lot of fun. Come join us.