KLSA Activities
Water Quality Monitoring
KLSA has been involved in lake water quality monitoring since 2000. Volunteers can participate in the KLSA E.coli testing program, or the Lake Partner Program run by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks in partnership with the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA). Results for both programs are published in the KLSA annual Lake Water Quality Report.
E.coli
Kawartha Lake Stewards Association (KLSA) was incorporated in 2001 by lake community members concerned about the quality and safety of the water in our Kawartha Lakes. In 2001 KLSA began a program to measure the E.coli levels in lake water samples. E.coli was the bacteria of choice because it indicates fecal contamination from warm-blooded animals, including humans and geese, and increased levels can sometimes cause serious illness to bathers.
KLSA volunteers carry out sampling several times each summer period at more than sixty sites in a dozen or more Kawartha Lakes. Since 2001 the results of each year’s E.coli tests have been published in KLSA’s annual Lake Water Quality Report, and the data have been used for several undergrad thesis projects at Ontario Tech University.
Contact Us
If you are interested in being part of this important program please contact us at klsa@klsa.info
Lake Partner Program (LPP)
The Lake Partner Program (LPP) was launched in the 1990s by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks in partnership with the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA) to engage community scientists to build a database of nutrient and water clarity information from lakes across Ontario.
Phosphorus, chloride, and calcium measurements are taken from water samples collected each May. Volunteers are also asked to make a minimum of six monthly water clarity observations using a Secchi disk. This information provides valuable insight to the status and trends in lake ecosystem health.
KLSA has encouraged our supporters to volunteer with the LPP since 2001, and we support testers in our area. We also publish LPP data from the Kawartha Lakes in our annual Lake Water Quality Report.