LOVELL, MAINE

Like many lakes in New England, Kezar Lake water quality is being threatened by human activities on land and in water, the effects of which are further compounded by climate change. We conduct annual monitoring in Kezar Lake and its watershed to help track changes in water quality. Since 2008, FBE has assisted the Kezar Lake Watershed Association (KLWA) with conducting annual monitoring at the three basins of Kezar lake, six hydrologically connected ponds, and several tributaries. At the deep spot of each waterbody, FBE collects temperature and dissolved oxygen profiles, Secchi disk transparency readings, and integrated epilimnetic cores for total phosphorus, chlorophyll-a, total alkalinity, pH, and color. FBE also deploys a buoy with a string of Onset HOBO® dissolved oxygen and/or temperature loggers at the upper bay of Kezar Lake. Deployed depths equate to critical layers in the water column, which becomes thermally stratified in summer at the upper basin. For tributary monitoring, three sites (Great, Cold, and Boulder brooks) are sampled for dissolved oxygen, temperature, total phosphorus, pH, and E. coli. For nearly a decade, FBE also maintained a suite of water level and temperature loggers at established stream gauges at nine tributaries around Kezar Lake. FBE also completed a special baseline acidity study in the watershed in response to concerns during a period of rapid pH decline in the area. Ultimately, these monitoring efforts help build an extensive database for KLWA to better understand long and short-term trends in water quality and support efforts to protect one of Maine's cleanest and clearest lakes.