Drivers of change for lakewater clarity

Drivers of change for lakewater clarity

2008

Lakes in the Upper Midwest have undergone extensive lakeshore development over the past 30 years, raising concerns about eutrophication. We examined 11 case study lakes in Minnesota that had undergone substantial shoreline development over the past 30 years to evaluate drivers of change in clarity. Relationships between current Secchi disk transparency (SDT) and the density of permanent equivalent houses (PEHs) and between change in SDT and change in density of PEHs were not statistically significant. For lakes with large watershed area-to-lake area (WSA: LA) ratios, modeled worst-case scenarios for impacts of shoreline housing show that phosphorus (P) inputs may not be sufficient to reduce SDT. For sensitive lakes, improved P management policies may counteract increased shoreline development, at least in part. For lakes with large WSA:LA ratios, activity outside the shoreline area, particularly agricultural activity, is probably more important than shoreline development in affecting SDT. Although policies considered lake management operate at fairly small scales"

Baker, Lawrence A
Schussler, Johanna
Snyder, Stephanie A

WRC

10

Water Conveyance & Hydraulics

eutrophication
eutrophications
secchi disc
secchi discs
secchi disk
water quality & pollutants
water quality and pollutants
phosphorus
phosphorous
water clarity
water clerity
lake shore
lake-shore
lake-shores
lakeshore
lakeshores
shore line development
shore-line development
shoreline development
S.D.T
SDT
Secchi disk transparency

2000-2009

Yes

from household to global.",NULL"

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