Data Info

Secchi Depth
Trophic State Index
Lake Grades
Chlorophyll
Nutrients

GIS

Aquatic Plant Surveys

Nutrients are those elements and molecules that are essential to the nutrition of biological organisms. In the case of lakes we are referring to those nutrients that are in short enough supply in the water that their concentration regulates the amount of algal and plant growth that can occur. In turn, the amount of plant growth regulates the amount of zooplankton and fish growth. More on nutrients can be found in the Lake Ecology Primer.

The nutrients that water quality professionals are most often concerned with are nitrogen and phosphorus and these are the types of data we present here. The concentration of other elements and compounds are important to the nutrition of aquatic organisms and some of these are presented in the data summary table for each lake.