Curtis Brock talks about the history of lake monitoring in central Alberta. Recreation values are an reoccurring issue and conserving habitat continues to be a challenge for heavily used lakes. He describes the parameters typically recorded during lake monitoring and what has been learned about the state of central Alberta lakes. Most lakes are shallow, warm, turbid, alkaline, productive (eutrophic) and support a variety of fish species and plants. The lake data does confirm the productivity of Alberta lakes but it also shows there are variations in time and space for central Alberta lakes. Historic reconstruction (paleolimnology) shows that water quality in most lakes deteriorated before monitoring programs started. Water levels have been stable or decreasing over time; but lakes also can rebound quite quickly dependent on short term precipitation events.
Curtis Brock is a limnologist with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. His presentation was part of the Lake Management Workshop presented by the Mayatan Lake Management Society and the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, June 19, 2013 at Carvel, Alberta.
