Home About PROTECT News Releases Lakes are on our Minds: Adirondack Lake Assessment Project
Lakes are on our Minds: Adirondack Lake Assessment Project
The ice has gone out on Adirondack Park's ponds and lakes, and another season of water sampling is on the mind of our volunteer lake monitors.
Entering its 13th year, ALAP, the Adirondack Lake Assessment Project, is the largest, most professional, volunteer-driven water quality monitoring program in the Adirondack Park. ALAP is a partnership between Protect the Adirondacks (PROTECT), the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College (AWI), and project sponsors and lake monitors. ALAP was established to help develop a comprehensive and up-to-date database of water quality conditions in the Park. Volunteer monitors have collected data crucial to determining the long-term impacts of acid rain, road salt and septic system contamination, nutrient loading, and other threats to the water quality and ecological integrity of our treasured lakes and ponds.
The program’s ongoing success is measured by that of its dedicated volunteers. The project monitored 71 lakes and ponds during the 2009 season, thanks to efforts of over 30 lake and property owner associations, and numerous individual citizens. We added three new member water bodies to the program in 2009, and gained the interest of many future citizen stewards.
PROTECT and AWI view ALAP as a model of what citizen science can accomplish, and believes the program can inform our scientifically-based advocacy for policies and planning that help protect water quality in the Park. We are dedicated to advancing the important work of this program, and applaud the dedication and commitment of our volunteer monitors.
How does ALAP work?
ALAP volunteers sample their lakes for 3 month (June – August) or 5 month periods (May – September) – whichever works best for each individual’s schedule. Each month participants measure the transparency of their lake with a secchi disk, collect a bottle of water to be analyzed for various chemical components, and filter a small sample of water for chlorophyll. The filter and water sample are kept frozen until they are transported to the laboratory at Paul Smith’s College.
What are we monitoring?
Water samples collected by ALAP volunteers are analyzed for
pH – measure of acidity
Alkalinity – measure of acid neutralizing capacity of water
Calcium – naturally-occurring acid buffering material
Calcite Saturation Index – sensitivity of lakes to acidification
Total Phosphorus – measure of trophic status (water quality conditions)
Chlorophyll-a – measure of amount of algae in water
Secchi Disk Transparency – measure of water clarity
Nitrate - measure of nitrate concentrations may show acidification or wastewater pollution
Chloride – elevated chloride levels may be indicative of road salt or septic system contamination (see ALAP’s Importance, below)
Conductivity – measurement of water’s ability to conduct electric currents, high values may also be indicative of road salt of septic system contamination
Color – used in lake classification to describe the degree to which the water body is stained due to the accumulation of organic acids
Aluminum – certain types of aluminum can be harmful to aquatic life if combined with dissolved organic carbon
Dissolved Oxygen – measure of the amount of oxygen that is dissolved in water
How do new members get involved?
1. First, contact Juliet Cook, ALAP Administrative Volunteer. She and PROTECT staff will coordinate with the Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) for a training day.
2. AWI staff will visit your lake/pond to conduct a short training and deliver testing equipment and supplies. A full set of instructions for how to sample and store the samples will be provided.
Costs
We charge a one-time fee of $250 for the full testing kit, which includes a filter and hand pump, water bottle, sampling hose, and Secchi Disk. As long as this equipment is properly cared for, you should not have to replace it.
We charge $105 or $175 for the 3-month or 5-month testing periods. These fees will go up slightly in 2011 to account for increased costs of lab materials. These fees are paid in the spring when you register for the next upcoming season. Payment and 2010 registration forms have been mailed this spring to all 2009 sponsors and monitors. Test kits will be delivered very soon. We will continue to review and improve these procedures and the schedule.
Contact Info
Juliet Cook
ALAP Administrative Volunteer
Protect the Adirondacks!
(518) 891-1002 (Saranac Lake office)
ALAP’s importance
One indicator of ALAP’s importance emerged in February 2010 when ADKAction and the AWI at Paul Smith’s College released a well documented report on the effects and costs of the heavy use of traditional road salt (sodium chloride) in the Adirondacks. Using the ALAP data base (114 lakes have participated over the 12 years), the authors found that the average surface water chloride concentration in these lakes was 8.8 milligrams per liter, but ranged from as little as 0.1 to 51.4 mg per liter (Lower Cascade Lake along Rt. 73 was the highest). Most ALAP lakes are located near salted roads. By contrast, lakes monitored by the Adirondack Lake Survey Corporation are far more remote, and far less influenced by road salt. All of these ALSC lakes have chloride concentrations less than 1 mg/liter. The average chloride concentrations of the ALAP lakes exceeds the ALSC lakes by 22 times, clearly indicating that road salt has increased chloride levels in lakes near salted roads in the Park. The direct and indirect impacts of all this road salt on our lakes, ponds, streams and forest soils are significant. For more, or to read the entire report (Review of Effects and Costs of Road De-icing with Recommendations for Winter Road Management in the Adirondack Park), go to www.AdkAction.org
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