Water clarity is great right now

[Dave R]

I snorkeled the Belknap this AM. I swear visibility was close to 100 feet. I've never seen the water so clear. It was like the Carribean. Must be the recent rain?

[Slickcraft]

We sample Winni water at two sites on a weekly basis as part of the UNH Lakes Lay Monitoring Program:
http://winnipesaukeegateway.org/monitoring-the-lake/introduction/

One is a 95' deep site between Governor's and Timber. One test is to lower a black and white secchi disk and looking through a view tube record the depth at which the disk disappears from view.
http://www.geoscientific.com/sampling/index.html#SECCI

Previous results this year were not as deep as last year, 8.5 meters vs 9.5 last year. Today the water was very clear and the secchi depth was 10.2 meters (33.5 feet).

BTW, there was a very sharp thermocline at 8.5 meters.

[Dave R]

Previous results this year were not as deep as last year, 8.5 meters vs 9.5 last year. Today the water was very clear and the secchi depth was 10.2 meters (33.5 feet).

BTW, there was a very sharp thermocline at 8.5 meters.

I wish there was a simple horizontal clarity measurement. The water at 0-20+ feet deep, near Steamboat Island is crystal clear.

It was creepy looking over the side of my boat in Center Harbor and seeing boulders I'd never seen before. They looked a lot closer than they were.

[Belmont Resident]

I was told the reason the lake is becoming clearer is due to all the lawn chemicals killing off the algea. Is this still true? Or was it in the first place?

[fpartri497]

the first signs of fall On the lake. yesterday the water temp. has dropped to 75 deg.

:(

[Jeanzb1]

Was hoping that we would escape the annual gleotrichia bloom because it seems rather late this year, but, alas, yesterday there it was, even way offshore. UGH. It looks like tiny dots suspended throughout the top approx. 12 inches of the water.

[Just Sold]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=691 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=19 height=44>Gleotrichia Floating green stuff
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=5 height=293>Fuzzy, green floating dots on lakes and in the top few feet of water, or tiny tapioca-like balls might be an alga (microscopic plant) called Gleotrichia echinulata . Gleotrichia (glee-oh-trick-ee-ah) usually appear mid-summer for brief periods, but can persist longer in some lakes. The presence of Gleotrichia does not necessarily indicate poor water quality since it is commonly present in Maine lakes that have good water clarity. Wind and currents can concentrate them in one part of the lake and high densities can collect in coves.
</TD><TD vAlign=top colSpan=14>http://www.umaine.edu/waterresearch/fieldguide/webphotos/gleotrichia.jpg

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>