{"id":11322,"date":"2026-04-15T20:04:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/?page_id=11322"},"modified":"2026-04-30T10:45:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T10:45:58","slug":"examples","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/waters\/lit-links\/ec-notes\/examples\/","title":{"rendered":"Examples of “EC Monitoring”"},"content":{"rendered":"

DRATFTING…<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

WILLIAMS LAKE WATERSHED<\/p>\n

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Fig 1. Report Fig. 4 Colpitt Lake SPC values (uS\/cm) on Dec 10, 2015. The gold-\u00adhighlighted values are for seeps (see text). SW: Standing Water. Inlet 1 is at the mouth of Governor’s Brook<\/p><\/div>\n

WLW 1:\u00a0 Water quality measurements on Williams Lake and Colpitt Lake (Halifax, N.S.) Dec 7-13, 2015 with reference to possible impacts of road salt<\/strong><\/a>
\nReport by David Patriquin Jan 6, 2016 to Williams Lake Conservation Company. Vertical (limnological) profiles of temperature, conductivity, oxygen and pH were obtained to characterize the winter state of Williams Lake. To identify sources\/sites of salt inputs, SPC and temperature were determined for inlets on each of Colpitt Lake (upstream from Williams Lake) and Williams Lake; there were large differences in SPC values for streams coming from settled areas and those coming from undeveloped lands. SPC values at inlets and in lake water were used to estimate the proportion of water coming from settled versus unsettled landscapes; Governor’s Brook is identified as a major source of salt input to Colpitt Lake and thence to Williams Lake.<\/p>\n

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Fig 2. SPC values at Site 1 (upper Governors Brook) on individual sampling days. <\/strong>Each bar shows the EC value for a particular date<\/p><\/div>\n

WLW2:\u00a0 CB Observations Gov. Bk\/Colpitt Lake<\/strong><\/a>
\n“Charles Bull has been conducting \u201cCitizen Science\u201d observations on Electrical Conductivity (a measure of salt content) & Temperature of surface waters at 3 locations in the upper Williams Lake Watershed April 2022 to April 2023 & ongoing.”<\/p>\n

The webpage describes results from the first complete year of sampling. An extract:<\/p>\n

“Full strength seawater is about 50,000 uS\/cm. So water in Governors Brook on the high EC days (Fig 1) was the equivalent of about 20-40% seawater. The Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life for chloride are 120 mg CL\/L for Long term Exposure and 640 mg CL\/L for short term exposure; the equivalent EC values are 474 and 2414 uS\/cm respectively (source). On the days when EC exceeded 9,999 uS\/cm, the chloride values were likely at least 5 x the critical value for short term exposure!”<\/p>\n

SANDY LAKE WATERSHED<\/p>\n

Measurements of EC and temperature of surface waters in “Sandy Lake and Environs (Bedford, NS)” were conducted as a supplement to a broader survey of the plant communities initiated on June 17, 2017. I had intended this survey to be of limited duration (one field season, 2017) but it led to\u00a0 many followup observations, these\u00a0 \u00a0conducted over ensuing years, especially in relation to characterization of water quality.<\/p>\n

Circa 8 sets of observations of water temperatures and conductivity in surface waters were obtained using a pocket meter. Various of these sets\u00a0 could be described as “casual”,\u00a0 “formal” and in-between (semi-formal) in nature, formal being a set of observations that one would expect to be accepted as “scientific”. All of them are likely to be considered “citizen science”.<\/p>\n

I am a retired academic scientist but my goal with these observations was not to produce scientific papers but simply to learn as much as I could about factors affecting water quality with the limited resources at hand, the pocket meter being one of them. All of the data and interpretations and methods are posted on this website so that other parties who might be interested in this topic can make their own assessment of the credibility of the observations and critique the interpretations\/make their own interpretations.<\/p>\n

I am presenting the sets of observations and conclusions in the order in which they were made to illustrate how use of a simple, inexpensive conductivity meter can be very informative to volunteer organizations involved in water quality monitoring\/advocacy, how they can supplement the limnological observations conducted under the LakeWatchers program or similar protocols.<\/p>\n

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Fig 3. SPC, pH and temperature for surface waters on various dates in 2017<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n

SLW 1: SPC, pH and temperature for surface waters on various dates in 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2017, I compiled two larger sets of observations based on use of a pocket conductivity meter.<\/p>\n

One set (Fig 3) consisted of measurements on surface waters I encountered while walking and documenting the vegetation of the larger area over a period of several months (“casual observations”). Note in Fig 3\u00a0 that\u00a0 EC values for streams on the west side of the lake – where they drain settled areas – are in general higher than those of streams the east side of the lake which drain\u00a0 undeveloped lands\/<\/p>\n

I also measured pH using a pocket pH meter, In general, the pH values for streams were lower than values for Sandy Lake (Fig 3) except for Bob\u2019s Brook (also known as Johnson\u2019s Brook); it enters the lake at the southwest corner of the lake); and for Peverill\u2019s Brook flowing from Sandy Lake to Marsh Lake.<\/p>\n

SLW2: EC and temperature around margins of Sandy Lake on Aug 10, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Fig 4. SPC<\/strong> (yellow numerals; units are uS\/cm), pH (red) and temperature (red) of surface water at different locations on Sandy Lake on Aug 10, 2017<\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n

This set of observations (Fig 4) consisted\u00a0 \u00a0of measurements of EC and temperature made around the perimeter of Sandy Lake on Aug 10 2017 in conjunction with a survey of the lakeside wetlands – these could be described as\u00a0 “semi-formal” as the observations were made on one date on one body of water, i.e. the values are more directly comparable one with another than those in Fig 3 because they were all obtained on one day. pH was measured at three sites.<\/p>\n

The highest EC (SPC) values in Fig 4 occurred near the mouths of the 3 streams draining settled areas at the south of the lake (view Stream Map<\/a>);\u00a0 from south east to south west the values were 203, 271&291, and 420&398 uS\/cm), while values away from those areas and likely more representative of the lake as a whole, were within the range 171-178 uS\/cm.<\/p>\n

Conclusions from SLW1 & SLW2:<\/p>\n

(i) There were large differences in EC spatially.
\n(i) In general, the higher values were in streams\u00a0 draining the more settled areas, lower values in unsettled or sparsely settled areas.
\n(iii) Within Sandy Lake, highest values occurred in areas of the lake adjacent to inlets where water from settled areas flow into the lake.<\/p>\n

View the Original Report<\/a> for more details related to SLW1 & SLW2<\/p>\n

SLW 3: Karen\u2019s Brook\/NW Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Fig. 5: Mouth of Karen Brook is just to the right<\/strong> (north). Aug 21, 2017.\u00a0 There is a light area about 2 m wide where water was rushing out of the brook; to either side are deposits of woody debris from the 2013 clearcut.Deposits closest to shore were exposed (above the lake level) on this day.<\/p><\/div>\n

Woody debris washed down from the 2013 clearcut via Karen\u2019s Brook forms a fan of\u00a0 dark woody surficial deposit on the lake bottom extending outwards from the mouth of the brook and may have led to some shallowing\/increased growth of emergent aquatics in the shallows by\u00a0 \u201cthe Beach\u201d at the northwest corner of the lake.<\/p>\n

EC in the exposed woody debris shown in photo at right above\u00a0 was 235 uS\/cm; 27 deg C, pH 5.7; water in the flowing water in front of it was 100 uS\/cm, 23.6 deg C. Open lake water was circa 170 uS\/cm on Aug 10.<\/p>\n

Wood chips typically “immobilize” nitrate- and ammonia-nitrogen\u00a0 \u00a0when they start decomposing, but after about 2 years begin to “mineralize” (release) nitrogen1<\/sup>. The high EC value for the exposed debris compared to water flowing over it and to open lake water suggests it was likely mineralizing nitrogen rather than immobilizing it2<\/sup> \u00a0at this stage, which was 4 years after the clearcut. Other nutrients in the chips would also be released along with the nitrogen. Another possibility: the high concentration of organic matter is creating anaerobic conditions and\u00a0 release of\u00a0 phosphorus 3<\/sup>; possibly both processes are occurring. Either way, it’s likely that the woody debris is adding to the nutrient load on Sandy Lake, as well as to oxygen consumption.<\/p>\n

View the Original Report<\/a> for more details, references.<\/p>\n

…Limnological Profiles<\/a><\/p>\n

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sdaasd<\/p><\/div>\n

Limnological Profiles _ Forests and surface waters of Sandy Lake & Environs (Bedford, Nova Scotia)<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These observations suggested that Sandy Lake was subject to significant anthropogenic inputs which could be affecting water quality; that was indicated as well by data on lake total P compiled in the AECOM 2014 Report<\/p>\n

3.<\/p>\n

W and SW of S. Lake 2Oct2020<\/a><\/p>\n

EC & pH Nov 8 & Dec 13, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

South of HPR 20Aug2020<\/a><\/p>\n

Seasonal Monitoring<\/a><\/p>\n

Addendum 1: Trends in Conductivity\/Salt Content<\/a><\/p>\n

EC & pH<\/a><\/p>\n

Karen\u2019s Brook\/NW Beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Swamp 5 (degraded)<\/a><\/p>\n

From the Ovrview (Written Jan 11, 2018.)
\nThe SLE 2017 Observations included measurement of vertical profiles of limnological variables in Sandy Lake and extensive measurements of pH and electrical conductivity (a measure of salt content) on lakes and streams… These data, although preliminary in nature, provide some direct evidence of the state of the lakes and streams and provide some additional reasons to be concerned about the current state of the lake and impacts of further development close to the lake, notably<\/p>\n

(i) the oxygen level close to the bottom of Sandy Lake at or near its deepest point in 2017 was only 1\/2 of the value reported in 1971 (there seem to have been no other measurements of deep water oxygen in the interim), and is lower than the value required for support of salmonids;
\n(ii) there is some evidence for a \u201csalt signal\u201d in the lake with saltier water occurring at the bottom of the lake, which if continued, can severely affect the normal turnover and oxygenation in the lake;
\n(iii) it\u2019s clear that the salt is coming from the developed parts of the watershed while those not developed continue to input \u201cclean\u201d (low salt content) water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DRATFTING…   WILLIAMS LAKE WATERSHED WLW 1:\u00a0 Water quality measurements on Williams Lake and Colpitt Lake (Halifax, N.S.) Dec 7-13, 2015 with reference to possible impacts of road salt Report by David Patriquin Jan 6, 2016 to Williams Lake Conservation … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":6124,"menu_order":30,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11322","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11322"}],"version-history":[{"count":60,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11489,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11322\/revisions\/11489"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}