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WWU’s Institute for Watershed Studies deepens research of Northwest lakes

Now in its 20th year, the Northwest Lake Monitoring Program tracks water quality in 60-plus regional lakes. This year, in addition to shoreline sampling, researchers canoed out for a deeper look

by Jennifer Nerad

University Communications

Thomas Boyne and Angela Strecker carry their instrument-filled canoe into Lake Terrell. They will paddle out to the deepest parts of the lake to collect measurements and water samples from various depths.

The Pacific Northwest is dotted with small freshwater lakes enjoyed for recreation — like boating, swimming, or fishing — or animal and plant habitats.   

But how do we know if a lake is safe to recreate in?  

“There is funding for water quality monitoring at Lake Whatcom because it provides drinking water for Bellingham and parts of the county, but for the most part, no one is studying the smaller lakes,” said Angela Strecker, a professor of Environmental Science at Western and the director of the university’s Institute for Watershed Studies. “We’re filling a gap.”  

The Institute’s Northwest Lake Monitoring Program tracks water quality in more than 60 lakes in Whatcom, Skagit, Island, and Snohomish counties that largely do not have regular ongoing monitoring.   

Throughout the summer, two undergraduate student employees headed out to do water quality, nutrient, and algae sampling twice a week.   

“For an undergrad experience, this is kind of unparalleled,” said Kyla Wynn, a senior Environmental Science major and one of two student employees who traveled to and, sometimes, hiked in to sample the lakes this summer. “We’re hiking up to this lake. We get paid to do this!”  

It’s also a great opportunity to get field work, data collection, and analysis experience, and contribute to a project that makes an impact in the community.  

Wynn and research partner Thomas Boyne, also a senior Environmental Science major, visited all 60-plus lakes over the summer.   

Thomas Boyne and Angela Strecker paddle out to the middle of Lake Terrell while Kyla Wynn takes measurements and algae samples from the dock.

Most of the sampling happens at public access points along the shoreline, but starting this year, the researchers went a bit deeper — literally. For some of the lakes, they loaded their gear into a canoe and paddled out to do more intensive sampling at various depths.   

Some lakes can form distinct layers where dissolved oxygen, temperature, and algae populations differ. Sampling at multiple locations and depths offers more data points and could contribute to understanding how this stratification might be holding valuable information. 

The researchers are also capturing different species of algae by sampling in the deeper parts of the lake.  

“Algal communities are notorious for changing quickly. They are variable in both time and space, so you can get patches throughout the lake,” said Strecker. 

Back in the lab, Wynn and Boyne analyzed the water samples for alkalinity, chlorophyll, bacteria, carbon, and nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates, and examined algae.  

While some amount of algae is part of the normal ecosystem, warmer temperatures and higher levels of nutrients can trigger rapid algae growth and produce harmful algal blooms, or HABs, that can be dangerous to other organisms, wildlife, people and pets. 

“Algae are super adaptable. Yes, algae like warm water, but they also like cold water,” said Strecker. 

Sometimes it’s hard to track down the source of the problem. 

In addition to excess nutrients and rising temperatures, other factors that can contribute to harmful algal blooms include development and pollution from runoff. But even lakes that aren’t surrounded by a lot of development, like Pass Lake in Deception Pass State Park, sometimes have harmful algal blooms.  

Lake Campbell on Fidalgo Island has also occasionally closed to recreation due to harmful algal blooms. Lakes can be treated to clear the blooms, but treatment acts on the symptom, not the cause.  

In 2012, the Institute completed a yearlong study on Lake Padden, trying to understand why it was experiencing off-season blooms, a phenomenon that persists. 

The Institute is also partnering with the non-profit RE Sources and Whatcom County Health and Human Services to do more frequent monitoring on a selection of lakes chosen because they are more popular recreation sites or provide drinking water. This newer collaboration, the Freshwater Lake Monitoring program, focuses on Lake Padden, Lake Fazon, Emerald (Toad) Lake, Silver Lake, and Cain Lake. Additionally, the Institute sampled Lake Terrell.

The Institute began the Northwest Lake Monitoring Program in 2006 as a public service to provide baseline water quality data for previously unmonitored lakes.  

Learn more about the Northwest Lake Monitoring Program and the Institute for Watershed Studies. 

Jennifer Nerad covers Western's College of the Environment and College of Business and Economics for the Office of University Communications. Have a great story idea? Reach out to her at neradj@wwu.edu.