The information and samples from these monitors are collected and further analyzed at the UNH laboratory in Durham, producing a meaningful set of data from year to year. The data may be used to detect early warning signals of potential problems.
The state also conducts water quality tests on the lake, but only every 10 years, making our efforts very important for tracking the long-term health of the lake.
LWA became involved with water quality monitoring on the lake in 1982 and continues to play an important role in the coordination and expansion of monitoring taking place from just after ice-out into the early fall every year.
LWA assists with recruiting and training volunteer water quality monitors, coordinating the movement of water samples from volunteers to the lab, and seeking out sponsors to fund the monitoring going on throughout the lake.
We also focus on public outreach – promoting the program and publicizing the data and results on the Winnipesaukee Gateway website.
View the GatewayA visual snapshot of the health of Lake Winnipesaukee can be found on the Winnipesaukee Gateway. The map allows the user to view the lake as a whole and choose which parameter (Total Phosphorus, chl-a, water clarity) to display.
Individual sampling sites can be clicked on, and a pop-up window will open to provide a snapshot of the data for that site.
View the MapSampling Highlights of Monitoring Program supplement Winnipesaukee Gateway data.
Want to understand the water quality data for Lake Winnipesaukee in more depth? For those lakes in the University of New Hampshire’s Lakes Lay Monitoring Program, results from each year’s sampling are now online.
The reports provide a summary of water quality for specific areas of Winnipesaukee based on measurements of total phosphorus, chlorophyll-a, and water clarity. All of Winnipesaukee’s reports are not yet available, but will be uploaded as completed.
Want to help monitor the lake but don’t have a boat or time to be a water quality monitor?
If you have a smart phone, you can help track algal blooms with bloomWatch.
State and local officials can’t be watching every lake at all times! By using the bloomWatch app on your smartphone, you will help scientists understand where and when algal blooms occur and may be causing issues. No training is necessary – if you see a green scum, clump, flakes or filaments, you simply take a picture, fill in some basic information and upload it to the web.
The information gets sent to both cyanos.org and the NH Department of Environmental Services. Join the community of citizen scientists!
View the Reports