Water Quality:

Water testing July 25, 2021

There are eight parameters that our water testing program monitors. 

Total Coliform:  Total coliform refers to a class of bacteria associated with decaying plant and animal material. Test results with less than 1000 counts per 100ml are considered safe for recreational purposes.

E.Coli:  E.Coli is a type of bacteria present in fecal material from humans, pets, wildlife and agricultural. Counts of less than 100 per 100ml are considered safe for recreational purposes.

Clarity (Secchi) and Temperature is completed each month we do our testing.

All of these have a factor in the quality of our water.

Water samples for Total Phosphorous and Calcium have been done and sent to the Dorset Environmental Science Centre for testing.  We will receive results for these later this summer.  Dorset also receives our secchi (clarity) results for the season. 

Secchi testing (clarity) is done every month during the summer water testing. Secchi result for July was 11.

8 Locations are tested June to September each year for Total Coliform and E.Coli:                                                                                                                              TC           EC

Wilson’s Bay                     SK2              3              16     

Newport Beach                SK4            10              13 

Beaman’s Bay                   SK6            16                1 

Camp Ramah                    SK7            26                5  

Bottom of High Falls     SK8              5                0  

Camp Kawasin                  SK9              9                0 

Long Point Bay                 SK10             6              25    (old mill bay)

Long Bay                              SK11            13               1 

All of these 8  locations for the second water testing of the summer have tested ‘good to great’ in a very safe zone.  On July 24^th there was very heavy rain.

The waterfalls coming from High Lake were really flowing very fast due to the recent rain fall and higher water levels.  This area reported with very normal levels of TC/ Count and EC counts.

All eight of the locations tested very similar to this same time as last year’s water test.  There was more than average rainfall in the past week and water levels are very high, there are no algal blooms and no more pollen.  Boat traffic seems to be normal for this time of year.  Noticing more off-lake boat traffic coming in from Skeleton Lake Marina public launch site.

The temperature of the lake was 72-75 F for the month of July.

Our water testing this month of July indicated that the high quality of the water in Skeleton Lake continues its reputation of a crystal clear clean lake. Please be conscious of washing with any soaps/shampoos etc.  (Ref. article links below.) 

There are many interesting websites to get water information from including:

FOCA

Muskoka Watershed Council

Muskoka Water Web

Blue Lakes Project

Simcoe Muskoka

Understanding beach water quality

Please stay safe, and do your best to keep our lake clean!

There are eight parameters that our water testing program monitors.  They are Total Coliform, E.Coli, Total Phosphorus, Calcium, Clarity and Temperature.  All of these have a factor in the quality of our water.

Water samples for Total Phosphorous and Calcium are done and sent to the Dorset Environmental Science Centre for testing.  We will receive results for these later this summer.  Dorset also receives our Secchi (clarity) results for the season. 

We have not yet received our phosphorous testing kit. This is usually done the end of May.  I will be checking again with them this week. We have still NOT heard from Dorset as of yet.

Secchi testing(clarity) on July 24, 2020  a very sunny and calm day resulted in a count of 12 meters.    This continues to be an excellent result for clear Skeleton Lake.

All of these locations for the second water testing of the summer tested “good to great”.

The waterfalls coming from High Lake were really flowing, due to the recent rain fall.   This area was also where the TC/Flor counts were the highest in June.  The July readings were somewhat higher than last month.

The readings in the Rama area were very high this reading in July.  Not a concern for EC count but the TC count is very high. This area will be tested again in 2 weeks.

Temperature of the lake is 77-78 degrees, in July.

There were no sightings or reports of algal blooms so far.   Boat traffic seems to be low compared to other years. 

Very informative information can be found on the muskokawatershed.ca website.  There is a lot of helpful information on this site.