Katie Studholme & Stephen Glazier monitor water quality for HRM program
by: Cathy Vaughan
LakeWatchers is an HRM lake water quality monitoring program initiated in 2022 and managed by the municipality’s Environment & Climate Change team. According to their website, Williams Lake is one of 72 lakes chosen for the program because it was identified as being “susceptible to changes in our region” based on “local land uses and other municipal work.” Data collected in the spring and late summer, will be monitored for physical, chemical and biological changes to the lake.
Studholme is a wildlife biologist and Glazier is a physicist. Both are on the board of directors of the Williams Lake Conservation Company. As scientists, they were eager to use the gadgets and gear supplied by HRM to collect water samples, take readings on the lake, and contribute to the LakeWatchers database. While this is just a snapshot of the health of Williams Lake today, consistent sampling will provide the data needed to examine trends in the health of our lakes, inform future preventative measures, and take early corrective action if needed.
For additional information on Halifax Regional Municipality’s LakeWatchers program click link below
HRM LakeWatchers