LAKE WAUKEWAN, MEREDITH, NH

We worked in partnership with the Lake Winnipesaukee Alliance (LWA), the Meredith Water Department (MWD), the University of New Hampshire Center for Freshwater Biology and Lakes Lay Monitoring Program (UNH CFB/LLMP), and trained local volunteers to monitor the water quality of Lake Waukewan, a Class A oligotrophic lake that serves as the primary drinking water supply for over 3,000 customers in Meredith, NH. Lake Waukewan has experienced cyanobacteria blooms in five different years and faces impairment for aquatic life integrity due to low dissolved oxygen at depth and for primary contact recreation due to low pH. Within this project, FBE sampled at the deep spot and the intake pipe, collecting Secchi disk transparency readings, phytoplankton and zooplankton net tows, and profiles for temperature, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity. At the deep spot, additional profiles for pH, turbidity, chlorophyll-a, and phycocyanin are taken. An integrated epilimnetic core was collected at both sites, in addition to a grab sample at the deep spot, both of which were measured for chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, total dissolved phosphorus, ortho-phosphate, total nitrogen, total dissolved nitrogen, ammonium, dissolved organic carbon, anions/cations, manganese, and iron.

This project evaluated the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the lake to evaluate changes in waterbody health, assess cyanobacteria bloom risk, and determine exposure to cyanotoxins in the public water system, informing the development of a Source Water Assessment Report and a Cyanobacteria Monitoring and Response Plan for Lake Waukewan. FBE’s contributions to this project will ultimately help inform watershed management activities, in hopes of protecting a valuable public resource for the Town of Meredith and the broader community.