Volunteer Lake Monitoring - Volunteer Monitoring - Monitoring - Water Resources - Public Works

Vancouver Lake near dusk.

Like streams, lakes mirror the health of the surrounding watershed providing scientists, and volunteers alike a whole new aspect of watershed science.

Lakes are highly complex systems that function and respond to pollution differently than streams. Lake monitoring utilizes a specific set of procedures, equipment, and data collection methods.

Clark County volunteers have access to an array of lake monitoring equipment, as well as training regarding the use of sampling equipment and the collection of water samples.

Volunteer lake-monitoring methods focus on a concept of "lake condition", or the current health of a lake. Eutrophication is the term used to describe the excessive input of nutrients and rapid aging of a lake.

General symptoms of eutrophication include increased algal growth from nutrient enrichment, increased rooted aquatic plant growth from nutrient and sediment enrichment, and lower dissolved oxygen concentrations in all or parts of the lake from the decomposition of plant matter.

Each of these symptoms can limit the use of the lake by humans and by wildlife. Eutrophication is accelerated when excessive nutrients enter a lake from disturbances in the watershed.

All monitoring procedures for the program are outlined for volunteers in the Clark County Lake Monitoring Manual (PDF - 326K)

Lacamas Lake and Battleground Lake have been monitored in the past by Clark County, however, Vancouver Lake is monitored exclusively by volunteers. The volunteers will monitor Vancouver Lake from May to October in 2005, providing important information about general lake conditions to resource managers and the public.

For more information on Volunteer Monitoring:

For more information, contact:
Monitoring Staff