Upper Saranac Lake (USL) is one of the most intensely studied lakes in the Adirondacks. The lake has been the subject of numerous scientific research projects, a 32-year water quality monitoring initiative, and an invasive plant management program that has served as a model for lakes around the world. The Upper Saranac Foundation in partnership with Adirondack Watershed Institute monitors the water quality of the lake’s seven tributaries, the north and south basins, and its outflow. The Water Quality Update provides a synopsis of the health and trends of water quality for Upper Saranac Lake.
The report includes information obtained from the Environmental Monitoring Platform, analysis of hydrological and chemical loading through the lake’s tributaries, meteorological data, and aquatic plant monitoring data.
Long term data sets, such as this report for Upper Saranac Lake, are invaluable and provide a broad view of lake ecology and watershed function. Analyzing the watershed in the context of time improves our capability of understanding slow and highly variable ecological processes and provides reliable information to support lake management.
Highlights of the report include:
- Phosphorus concentrations of the surface water have exhibited a positive downward trend in the north basin since the early 1990s.
- ● Phosphorus in the bottom water ranges from fair in the south basin to poor in the north.
- Algal biomass continues to be relatively low and has sustained improvement in the north basin of the lake.
- Cyanobacteria blooms are observed on occasion; lake-wide blooms have been rare since the early 1900s.
- Water clarity continues to decrease in both basins. The average transparency across the summer is nearly a meter less than it was in the early 1990s.
- USL possesses a sufficient amount of acid neutralization ability to combat acidification.
The report is now available and can be found on the Upper Saranac Foundation’s website at: https://usfoundation.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/USL-Update-2021.pdf A detailed explanation of the water quality of USL can be found in the Upper Saranac Lake State of the Lake Report on the Upper Saranac Foundation at: usfoundation.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Upper-Saranac-Lake-State-of-Lake-Report-2018.pdf