2022 Report - Published Online on July 25, 2023

Overall Summary

Water transparency degraded significantly to 2.22 meters (7.3 feet), about 2.2 feet less than in 2021.

Province Lake had 3 cyanobacteria bloom events in 2022, as reported by the PLA and NH DES via their emails. This was subsequent to having had 3 significant reported blooms in 2021. The appearance of blooms has been sporadic from year to year since their emergence in modern times for 4 years in a row, starting in September 2010.

WARNING: Since Province Lake has a history of cyanobacteria blooms of varying severity, it is advisable to have a look at the water each time you or your children plan to swim. Caution is always advisable. Since a cyanobacteria bloom is readily visible, if you don't see it, swimming is probably safe. If a heavy bloom has just occurred, you might want to wait an extra day or two after it has cleared before swimming.

An excellent source of information about cyanobacteria is this DES web site.

Average phosphorus concentrations increased to the highest seen since 2014 or 2015 in both layers of the lake.
Chlorophyll-a increased to the highest average concentration since 2004.

The acidity, (measured as pH), of both the upper and lower layers of the lake decreased from the surprisingly high acidity that was measured in 2021. This change is good.

Details

This section provides a more detailed look at the 2022 UNH LLMP water quality data for Province Lake. The lake is sampled on dry weekdays to minimize effects of boating and rain.

1. Water transparency (a measure of how deep you can see into the water) was an average of 2.22 meters (7.3 feet) in the deepest part of the lake, a decrease of about 27 inches from 2021. The Secchi readings used to measure transparency covered a big range. The worst reading, only 1.4 meters (4.6 feet), was measured on 6/6/2022 and was the second lowest reading ever recorded on Province Lake. That same day the PLA sent out an email reporting that several small cyanobacteria blooms had been observed around the lake in the previous few days. The next lowest reading, 1.6 meters (5.2 feet) was measured on 9/26/2022, also during a period of cyanobacteria blooms. The second reading of the season, on 7/18/2022, was the best of 2022, at 3.4 meters (11.2 feet). The average of 2.22 meters (7.3 feet) was the worst since 2011 and the 6th worst in 31 years of data.

If a person were to exclude the Secchi readings taken during the 2022 cyanobacteria blooms, the average transparency for the new period of July-August would jump up to 2.70 meters (8.6 feet), only 0.4 meters (16 inches) worse than the same period in 2021. Clearly, cyanobacteria blooms are part of the problem, but since they are an ongoing feature of the lake, it is proper to measure transparency without taking into account whether or not a bloom is in progress.

We have no information about the transparency in 2020. In an attempt to head off any future data gaps, I created a Province Lake Secchi Club in 2021 and asked for volunteers to take readings from their boats. My hope was to create a more extensive database of Secchi readings, not dependent on a single PLA volunteer. I also hoped to generate a more continuous dataset, where there might not be over a month between readings. 2022 showed that there can be a huge difference in readings taken 6 weeks apart. Since cyanobacteria blooms significantly affect the transparency, this would also be a way of tracking them. I do not have a boat, so the success of this effort was wholly dependent upon members of the Province Lake community obtaining the equipment and taking the readings. The video link on the right shows you the basics of taking a Secchi depth measurement without the use of a viewscope. The reading technique is fully detailed HERE. While I received several messages of support and help with a computer-fillable version of the data form, I have not to date received a single completed datasheet.

Please note that I am reporting the transparency that is measured without a viewscope because it represents how most people actually observe the lake. The viewscope method represents how you would see the lake through a diving mask or swim goggles. For comparison, the average 2022 viewscope transparency was 2.54 meters (8.3 feet), a decrease of 41 inches from 2021. The statewide median transparency is 3.2 meters (10.5 feet), without a viewscope. We have a shallow lake, so sediments are easily stirred up, therefore we expect it to be below the state average. The deepest part of the lake is only 16 feet (4.8 meters) deep, variable with the lake level, as shown on the NH bathymetric chart.

2. Chlorophyll-a concentrations are used to indicate the average amount of algae and cyanobacteria (2) in the lake. Cyanobacteria are the only bacteria that contain chlorophyll-a, a chemical required for photosynthesis. Sampling during a cyanobacteria bloom will therefore likely boost the chlorophyll-a concentration measured. The 2022 chlorophyll-a concentrations jumped 30% from the 2021 average of 3.29 micrograms per liter (µg/L), to an average concentration of 4.27 µg/L. This is the 7th worst average concentration on record, with all the higher ones being in years 1991-2004. This high concentration well explains the severe drop in transparency.

The 2022 average concentration is 93% of the average amount that New Hampshire lakes had. Happily, Province Lake has been below the current NH median chlorophyll-a of 4.58 µg/L since 2005 and has only exceeded it 4 times in 31 years of data. A low level is good because dying algae forms the brown floating bottom masses in July and August. The algae masses settle loosely on the bottom when the lake is still and cloud the water when wind or boat wakes stir things up. This may be unsightly, but it is not harmful to people or their animals.

3. Phosphorus is a nutrient required for photosynthesizing organism growth and is typically thought to be the nutrient whose availability most limits plant, algae, and cyanobacteria growth in NH lakes. In 2022, the average phosphorus level in the upper water layer (sampled at 2.0 meters depth) increased by 19% from 2021's concentration to 17.72 µg/L, its highest concentration since 2015 and the 6th highest in 31 years of data. The 2022 level exceeds that in 50% of the lakes in NH, as it usually has.

In the lower water layer (sampled at 4.0 meters depth), the average 2022 phosphorus level was 19.20 µg/L, 28% higher than in 2021. This was highest concentration since 2014 and the 3rd highest in 21 years of data, since it started to be measured in the year 2000. During 2022, it was 8% higher than that measured at 2.0 meters; the deeper sample usually exceeds the shallower sample, so this is normal.

The total phosphorus concentrations over the years have been high enough to earn Province Lake a "Marginal Impairment" listing in the "Aquatic life" use category, ever since NH DES started issuing listings of impairments for phosphorus and chlorophyll-a in 2010. This was first explained in 2013's Issue #5 of the Province Lake Water Newsletter. The 2020 report had the time and space to explain the whole business of Impairments, since there were no new data to analyze for that year. I tried to make it as readable as possible, so please have a look, if you have not already done so.

The phosphorus concentration at the Rt. 153 Inlet (in NH, near the state line), shown at right, increased 18% from its 2021 level. That made this the 13th lowest concentration in 31 years of data, so still good enough, although lower is always better.

In my last report, I speculated that the dramatic reduction in phosphorus at the Rt. 153 Inlet in 2021 resulted from beavers damming up the culvert under Lost Mile Road through which the stream (also known as the South River) flows. This caused the large wetland upstream to be transformed into a large shallow pond, which allowed phosphorus-carrying sediments to settle out and be captured by the vegetation. The reduced flow in the stream reduced its ability to erode and transport sediments, as well as allowing sediments to settle out in the lower reaches of the stream, beside Rt. 153, before they could enter Province Lake. This beaver dam was removed sometime before the 2022 sampling season and a fence-like device was installed to prevent further dam building from occurring. It is possible that the removal of this dam was the cause of increased phosphorus at the Rt. 153 Inlet. I observed that the pond covered many acres of wetland to a depth of 1-4 feet. One acre covered to a depth of 1 foot contains about 326,000 gallons of water. Therefore, the removal of the dam potentially released millions of gallons of water into the upper South River, hence into Province Lake via the Rt. 153 Inlet, in a relatively short period of time. This release would have carried with it some of the phosphorus impounded in the temporary beaver pond. The greatly increased flow in the stream increased its ability to erode and transport sediments, as well as allowing it to flush sediments out of the lower reaches of the stream, beside Rt. 153. My calculations, based on many reasonable assumptions, indicate this scenario would have a minor effect on the phosphorus concentration of the lake as a whole, yet it could be part of the larger story.

Contrary to the increasing phosphorus everywhere else, the average phosphorus concentration measured at the Island Inlet on Bonnyman Road decreased 7% from 2021, making it the 3rd lowest in 31 years of data. This is good. The inland side of the Island Inlet is shown here. The sample is taken where the water flows into the culvert to pass under Bonnyman Road. Volunteers work to make sure this culvert does not stay dammed up by beavers, which could result in water flowing over the road surface.

The high lake level during the winter of 2021-2022, which caused so much property damage (e.g., to shoreline infrastructure belonging to us and all of our nearby neighbors), undoubtedly increased shoreline erosion, so is probably another part of the story. Phosphorus clings to sediments, so soil erosion and sediment disturbance can increase phosphorus concentrations. Given the high lake level during the subsequent winter of 2022-2023, persisting into at least July 2023, I will not be surprised if the phosphorus in the lake is also high in 2023. The severe cyanobacteria bloom experienced in late May and early June of 2023, followed by the bloom in early July 2023, could be signs of that. Hopefully, the recent replacement of the Bailey Road pipe culvert with a somewhat larger box culvert will allow greater drainage of the lake during future winters. However, it will still be up to the responsible parties to assure that the water is not backed up by beaver dams downstream of Bailey Road. The cost of control would be a pittance compared to the total cost of repairs all around the lake. Still, if there is simply too much rain or snow, there is only so much that can be done.

In case you are curious about the Bailey Road culvert and have not been there yourself, I have photos for you in the table below. These show the upstream and downstream side of the road before and after the replacement occurred. Likewise, if you are not familiar with the water level control device, the "dam", you can see photos of it at right. On the date of these photos, July 6, 2023, no boards had been installed in the device, allowing full river flow through it and the emergency bypass channel in the foreground. As with most other photos on this web site, click them to see the full uncropped HD version, then click the back arrow on your browser or [ALT]+[←] on your keyboard to get back to this report.

Date	May 6, 2022	July 6, 2023
Upstream
Downstream

The erosion control and septic system remediation efforts of the PLA and Acton Wakefield Watersheds Association (AWWA) in recent years are likely to have helped keep phosphorus levels in the lake from increasing more than they have. The new Fertilizer Pledge campaign by AWWA and the PLA is a welcome new addition in the effort to protect Province Lake from excess phosphorus. Province Lake is out in the country, not in the suburbs, so there is no need or expectation of picture-perfect lawns. While landowners can take steps to reduce their own phosphorus contributions, there is not one single cause of, and not one simple solution to, high phosphorus levels. It is not like light pollution, which can be fixed at each source by just flipping a switch.

It is important to educate lake users on the importance of operating jet skis and boats at slow speeds in shallow areas to minimize disturbance to sediments and vegetation. The use of wake-surfing boats on Province Lake will be detrimental to the water quality in our shallow water body. I can see the conundrum if you have already made the mistake of buying one of these things, but if you have not already bought one, please JUST DON'T! Pounding the shoreline with excessive wakes (especially when the lake level is abnormally high) or churning up the bottom sediments releases phosphorus, which promotes algae, weed, and cyanobacteria growth; increases turbidity (scattering of light by suspended particles), and decreases clarity.

4. Chlorophyll-a versus Phosphorus: See the 2018 report for a statistical analysis of the relationship between Chlorophyll-a and Phosphorus.

5. We had never sampled Province Lake for nitrogen as part of VLAP, but it is included in the UNH Lakes Lay Monitoring Program. A 1987 DES Lake Assessment Program survey had concluded that plant and algae growth in Province Lake is actually limited by the amount of nitrogen, rather than by phosphorus. Now that nitrogen is being monitored, we have the potential to eventually correlate nitrogen levels with algae growth, as measured by chlorophyll-a. At least 10 years of data are required before a meaningful statistical analysis can be performed. Meanwhile, it is important to be sure nitrogen-containing fertilizers are not used near the shoreline, or streams or ditches feeding the lake, and to be sure septic systems are operating properly. It would also be a tiny help not to pee in the lake while swimming; each time adds about 40 milligrams of nitrogen to the water.

If you have a lush, bright green lawn, it could be a sign to your neighbors and the community that you are fertilizing your lawn, possibly making a significant contribution of nitrogen and/or phosphorus to the lake. On the other hand, if you pump water directly out of the lake to irrigate your lawn, you can contribute to improving the lake water quality by removing nutrients from the water and putting them to use on your lawn; I have been told that some people actually do this here.

6. Province Lake had 3 cyanobacteria events in 2022, as reported by the PLA via their Alert emails. Having timely access to such emails is a good reason to join the PLA. Fortunately, none of the blooms fell during peak swimming season. Details of the 3 events are listed in the following table, including the dates and sources of information.

Bloom Dates	Cyanobacteria Bloom Alert Email Excerpts
6/6/2022	PLA: "Unfortunately, several small cyanobacteria blooms have been observed around the lake in the last few days. Cyano blooms can look like green mats or stringers and you may see small green flecks which are mixed in with yellow pollen. This occurred last year at about the same time."
9/2 – 9/21/2022	NHDES 9/7/2022: "A cyanobacteria bloom has been observed on Province Lake. The bloom was first reported on 9/2/22, appearing as green clouds and streaks along parts of the shoreline. The bloom dissipated with the rain event over the long weekend but resurfaced the morning of 9/7/22. Samples collected and reviewed on 9/7/22 revealed cyanobacteria (Dolichospermum) in concentrations up to 876,000 cells/mL in areas of highest observed accumulations. Advisories are issued when cyanobacteria cell concentrations exceed 70,000 cells/mL. As a result, NHDES has issued a cyanobacteria bloom advisory for those who use the waterbody for recreation. The advisory is not based on a toxin evaluation and is intended as a precautionary measure for short term exposure." NH DES press releases: 9/2/2022 Alert and 9/7/2022 Advisory NHDES update 9/14/2022: "Province was resampled today, 9/14/2022. The cyanobacteria density has declined as of today's sample, but it was very windy during sampling. Samples collected earlier in the week had densities above the advisory level, along with visually very obvious signs of continued cyanobacteria. The advisory will remain active until visual signs have passed, and an additional week of sampling with densities below the advisory level. Please keep signs posted at public access points. NHDES will resample again in a week. If people ask for updates on the current cyanobacteria advisory status, please direct them to the Beach Advisories Mapper. If you click on the advisory symbol, you can see our most recent sampling date. When advisories are lifted, the red symbol for the waterbody will no longer be on the map." PLA 9/21/2022: "Recent NHDES testing found that Province Lake did not have any measurable bloom forming cyanobacteria present and decided to lift the cyanobacteria advisory today. While that news was welcome, our members have continued to see sporadic visual signs of a cyanobacteria bloom as recent as today 9/21/22."
10/3 – 10/19/2022	NHDES 10/3/2022: "Province Lake has continued to have sporadic cyanobacteria blooms since NHDES lifted the advisory on 9/21/22. I am issuing a local alert, going into effect today, 10/3/22 to keep residents aware of the situation." NHDES 10/6/2022: A second cyanobacteria bloom has been observed on Province Lake. A cyanobacteria advisory was lifted on 9/21/22. Since then, sporadic bloom material has appeared, and quickly dissipated before a sample could be reviewed. This past Saturday, the material resurfaced in some areas, appearing as thick bright green clouds along some shorelines. A sample collected on Wednesday and reviewed 10/6/22 had cyanobacteria (Dolichospermum) densities around 836,000 cells/mL. Advisories are issued when cyanobacteria cell concentrations exceed 70,000 cells/mL. As a result, NHDES has issued a cyanobacteria bloom advisory". NHDES 10/12/2022: "Province Lake was resampled today, 10/12/2022. The cyanobacteria density declined from sampling last week. Considering the high levels observed in samples last week, and the sporadic nature of these blooms over the course of this Fall, the advisory will remain active for another week to make sure the event has fully passed. Until then, please keep signs posted at public access points. NHDES will resample again in a week." NHDES 10/19/2022: "The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) has REMOVED a cyanobacteria advisory for Province Lake that was issued on 10/6/2022."

Province Lake had experienced its first confirmed cyanobacteria bloom since the 1970's in September 2010, then had blooms 4 years in a row (2010-2013). Fortunately, no sightings worthy of a Lake Warning (now called an "Advisory") then occurred from 2014 through 2016. Sporadic blooms have occurred since then. See the official NH DES Bloom History which lists only issued Advisories, not Alerts or other reports.

The continuing blooms mean we are susceptible to having them in future years. We are not alone. A NH Lakes email sent on 9/8/2022 stated: "This summer, New Hampshire's lakes have set a record. Not a good one. This is the third consecutive summer to see a record number of toxic cyanobacteria bloom advisories issued for our lakes." When a cyanobacteria bloom is in progress (see description below), there is no way for us to know if it is toxic or not, so we need to act as if it were toxic. Therefore, it is important to know what a bloom looks like and act accordingly. If a cyanobacteria bloom is suspected, there may be Facebook postings and/or PLA email alerts issued. For your convenience, I have added a new "Cyanobacteria Bloom Status" page that will link you to the "Healthy Swimming Mapper", where you can check on the official cyanobacteria bloom status, as posted and updated daily by NH DES. That page can also be found under the "Facts & Photos" tab.

What a Cyanobacteria Bloom Looks Like: Large concentrations of cyanobacteria (a bloom) would be seen as a green, blue, or pink surface scum in a section of the lake. This is different from the tan or yellowish foam seen sometimes after strong winds. If present in large amounts, cyanobacteria can be toxic to animals and humans. There is some evidence connecting it with increased risk of ALS. See also this undated article: "CDC warns toxic algae is making people and animals sick", which reports on illnesses caused by both cyanobacteria and true algae during 2021 in 16 states, none of which are in New England. While recreational exposure to cyanobacteria toxins is a major concern of NH DES, I only know of one documented case of cyanotoxin-related illness in New Hampshire (See the 2020 report for details. If you know of other documented cases, please let me know.).
[Photo by NH DES, courtesy of the PLA, 2012.]

If you think you are seeing a cyanobacteria bloom, stay out of the water and especially, keep your children and pets out of the water. Call the NH DES Cyanobacteria Hotline at (603) 848-8094 or email HAB@des.nh.gov or submit a Bloom Report Form to describe what you see. Then call the PLA's phone number, (207) 200-3243, so a sample can be promptly collected. NH DES may analyze the suspected bloom, then post an Advisory if there is any danger. They will monitor the situation and remove the postings when all is clear.

There is a citizen science project of the US Environmental Protection Agency called BloomWatch that anyone can participate in using a smartphone or tablet. You can learn about it and download the app at https://cyanos.org/bloomwatch/ Note that reports to BloomWatch are for citizen science purposes only and do NOT constitute a formal report to authorities, so you would still need to report blooms to NH DES and the PLA, as described above.

A comprehensive yet readable source of information about cyanobacteria is a full presentation by Amanda McQuaid of NH DES called "Cyanobacteria Blooms of New Hampshire", which was given at the 2019 NH Lakes Congress.

According to DES factsheet "Phosphorus: Too much of a good thing", research indicates that cyanobacteria numbers increase as phosphorus in the water increases. Therefore, it suggests the best ways to try to minimize cyanobacteria blooms are to eliminate fertilizer use on lawns, to keep the lake shore natural, to protect against shoreline erosion, and to properly maintain septic systems to prevent leakage. These measures will become more important as the pressure of human population growth results in more land being cleared and developed in the Province Lake watershed. The specific causes of our own blooms is unknown, but preventing future blooms is a major goal of the Province Lake Watershed Management Plan.

7. A pH between 6.5 to 7.0 is ideal for fish, according to VLAP. pH is the measure of acidity, where 7.00 is neutral, below 7 is acidic, and above 7 is basic. Lab measurements averaged 6.76 in the upper layers and 6.74 in the lower layers, as opposed to 6.53 and 6.50, respectively, in 2021 and 7.16 and 6.94, respectively, in 2019. The state average in the upper layers is 6.6. While the lake's pH was still more acidic than in 2019, it seemed to be recovering from the acidic spike observed in 2021.

The average lab-measured pH at the Rt. 153 inlet was 5.86, a slight improvement over 2021's pH of 5.62, which was the lowest, most acidic average pH on record at this location since sampling began in 1991. 2022's pH is now just the 7th most acidic in 31 years of data. This inlet drains a large wetland, which naturally has a high concentration of tannic, humic, and fulvic acids from decomposition of plant life, which give it the color of tea, as shown in the photo at left, and reduce its pH.

The average pH at the Island Inlet was 6.31, significantly less acidic than the 5.93 pH of 2021 and more normal for this location. This inlet also drains a wetland.

Exceedances of the Water Quality Criteria for pH are defined as: pH < 6.5 or pH > 8.0. The state average pH of 6.6 is barely better than the 6.5 criterion, therefore a large number of New Hampshire water bodies are listed as "Slight impairment - marginal condition" in the "Aquatic life" use category for pH.

8. Province Lake was listed in 2008 as impaired for mercury in fish and it remains so with all other surface waters in New Hampshire (3). Two fish caught from Province Lake in 2009 were tested in 2010 and shown to have safe mercury levels, but just two fish cannot be assumed to be sufficiently representative of all fish in the lake, especially since 14 years have passed since those fish were caught. It's better to be cautious and do catch-and-release, which leaves more food for the loons and bald eagles.

Good News: In January 2023, NH DES reinitiated their Fish Tissue Mercury Monitoring Program. Download a pdf of the details HERE. An important difference in this renewed program is that they want a minimum of 5 individuals in the target size range of the primary species of interest [Yellow Perch (6 – 12 in.), Largemouth Bass (10 – 16 in.), or Smallmouth Bass (shown at right)(10 – 16 in.)]. There is also a list of secondary interest, for which a single individual can be submitted for analysis. Since the fish need to be frozen and hand-delivered to Concord, this would be a perfect citizen science project for a group of anglers on the lake to organize among themselves, in order to do a single delivery run to Concord. (Once the analysis is completed, please provide me with a copy of the results letter so that the community can see it.)

9. Much dissolved oxygen (DO) data were provided by UNH for 2022, all of it good. There had been none in 2020 or 2021. To see the results, click on the table photo at right to enlarge it. A high oxygen level is a sign of the lake's overall good health. Given Province Lake's large area and shallow depth, it tends to be well-aerated by wind and boats. I encourage powered watercraft to operate fast far from the shore to mix the deep waters and boost the oxygen concentration, while minimizing their speed and use in the shallows.

10. Much E. coli bacteria testing was done in 2013 as part of the study for the Province Lake Watershed Management Plan (see the 2013 supplementary report). Despite some very localized problems with E. coli bacteria in 2013, no E. coli sampling has been performed since then. According to NH DES, if funding and interest exist for further E. coli testing, it can be arranged. As described in the "Secondary Contact Recreation (boating)" section of the 2020 report, new E. coli testing will be necessary to restore Province Lake's "2-G" best rating from its current "3-ND" rating.

Maine drain at Rt. 153 and Shore Acres Road

Despite the lack of current concerns, it only makes sense that everyone should still stay out of the stream that flows from the golf course and drains into Province Lake at the beach along Rt. 153 near Shore Acres Road in Maine, shown here during a dry period in July 2020. Click photo for wider angle. If you see that water is flowing into the lake at that location, it would be best to avoid swimming too close to it. Canada geese grazing the golf course are almost certainly the source of the E. coli measured in 2013, although that reason does not make the E. coli concentrations safe. Generally, it is probably best to avoid swimming in any streams as they flow into the lake, since even those with E. coli levels considered safe had measurable amounts of bacteria in 2013. Of course, it is always best to avoid swallowing lake water under any circumstances.

11. Scorecards and regulatory documents: The 2020 report was primarily about regulatory documents, summarized as succinctly as possible, so I recommend going there to read all about it. I downloaded the current scorecard from the NH DES web site. It is labeled "2020/2022" (not clear what the dual year designation means) and it appears to be identical to the scorecard downloaded a year ago. A look at the page for Province Lake alone shows that all classifications are identical to those shown in the "2020" column chart in my 2020 report. This page was extracted from the full watershed scorecard. Please see my 2020 report for a full discussion.

12. European water-starwort: Callitriche stagnalis, commonly known as either "pond water-starwort" or "European water-starwort", appeared in Province Lake during 2014 and got its first real attention in 2015. It is not native to North America and is ranked "1-Severely invasive" in the Maine Natural Areas Program Advisory List of Invasive Plants - 2019, although not yet in New Hampshire. Its dense weed bed is a threat to native plants that might otherwise grow in that spot, and is also an impediment to swimming in that area. There is an extensive detailed report about the appearance of C. stagnalis in Province Lake published on this web site, with the most recent update in the 2019 report. I have seen that the weed bed is still there in 2023, but I have stopped measuring it because, fortunately, it does not seem to be spreading and local control measures seem to be working. The three photos at above right were taken on May 6, 2022.

Other Environmental Issues for Province Lake and Its Environs

Air Quality and Weather

We have recently been subjected to some poor air quality days due to wildfires in Canada. For your convenience, I have added an "Air Quality" page to this web site where you can find links to a variety of resources providing air quality information locally and for North America, which gets updated throughout each day. The Air Quality Index (AQI) widget at the top of this report is one of the reources on that page. I have also added a new "Weather" page that will take you not only to the National Weather Service forecast for Province Lake, but to an automated weather station located mere feet from the lake and to standardized precipitation data collected daily in town. Both pages can be found under the "Facts & Photos" tab.

Loons and Lead

Most birds swallow small stones to help them digest food. Many fishing sinkers fall into the size range that loons prefer. Being fish-eaters, loons have a lower stomach pH than waterfowl that eat vegetation, such as geese and most ducks. The lower pH more effectively dissolves the lead, which then kills the bird. Poisoning from ingestion of lead objects has been identified as the #1 cause of loon deaths in fresh water. Therefore, most lead fishing tackle has been outlawed for sale or freshwater use in New Hampshire since 2016, so if you still own any lead fishing gear, please stop using it immediately. According to Loon.org, from January 1 through Dec. 31, 2023, or until all vouchers are claimed, anglers can exchange one ounce or more of banned lead fishing tackle for a $10 merchandise voucher redeemable at participating tackle shops. The nearest such shop to Province Lake is Ossipee Bait and Tackle (Facebook link) at 306 Pine River Road in Effingham. Lead tackle can also be dropped off for free at AWWA's office at 254 Main Street, Union, NH. For definitive and up to date information on this subject, please see the Loon Preservation Committee's Loons and Lead web page. Read the Loon Center's full poster on the subject. The PLA arranged for lead gear to be collected at their Annual Meeting on 7/23/2022 (PLA photo).

Earthworms

If you bring up or buy earthworms to use as fishing bait, you absolutely should not release them on the ground, since they are not native to New England and they can eat up the leaf litter and disturb the soil. Many native plants, such as lady slippers, require undisturbed soil to live. HERE is an article, reprinted by permission of Maine Woodland Owners, that describes the threat that the more recently arrived and more aggressive Asian "jumping worms" pose to our forests. It begins:
"In Maine, all earthworms are non-native. Our forests have developed without them since the time of glaciers, so when earthworms are present, negative outcomes can result."

HERE is the Maine Jumping Worm page. The icon at left will take you to a Claymation video about jumping worms. The icon at right will take you to a live action video (my preference). Prior years' water quality reports, back to the 2011 report, also provide a variety of information about earthworm threats.

If you have worms for fishing, either use them up or give them to someone else who can use them. Dumping them in the lake is insufficient to dispose of them. Apparently, they can swim to shore and survive. Freezing worms for a few weeks or soaking them in rubbing alcohol (isopropanol) or ethanol (such as vodka) is most effective. If you find euthanizing them in alcohol to be too upsetting to watch, I have been told by a worm biologist that you can soak them in Epsom's salt solution first to relax them. Any soil you had the worms in can contain eggs or other life stages, so should be treated and not be dumped on the ground either. I find the State recommendation to place them in the trash inadequate, as it does not account for the final destination of your trash. Worms might survive a trip to a landfill and escape into the world from there. You only need a few to escape and cause permanent problems. So kill them! The native plants, tree frogs, toads, salamanders, and other little creatures that live in the woods will thank you!

Destructive Wood Pests

Transporting firewood into Maine is banned

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) ) is here! I've been warning for years that it is on its way, but the map shows that EAB has arrived and Province Lake is in the EAB Quarantine Area. Click the icon at right for the southern Maine quarantine map, updated 6/30/2022. Once EAB arrives, it cannot be erradicated, only managed. If you happen to have a significant number of ash trees on your property, it would be prudent to discuss management issues with a forester NOW, so that the value of timber can be realized before it is lost.

Beech Leaf Disease (BLD) does not seem to have yet reached the Province Lake region, but it has that potential. It has been moving rapidly north along the coast of New England and has made it into coastal New Hampshire and Maine. The Province Lake region is probably the best monitored region in northern New England, because I have surveyed it myself for 4 years, but it would be very useful to have others monitor elsewhere. For instance, if you hike away from the lake, you could survey along your favorite trails. If Province Lake is your summer weekend place, you could survey back home where you live. Please see the Beech Leaf Disease Project page to read all about it. BLD can kill a tree in just a few years.

Please always use local firewood, to keep from spreading around EAB and other wood pests. It is illegal to move firewood across most state lines in the Northeast now, and Province Lake is perched on a state line, so be careful to keep out of trouble. See the 2009 report for more details. You can also learn much more at the following web sites:

Light Pollution is real, with simple solutions.

At Province Lake, we are fortunate that we can see the Milky Way. According to the 2016 groundbreaking "World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness", 80% of the world’s population lives under skyglow. Without big commercial or industrial sources of light pollution nearby, is has been up to individual residents to ruin the night views for themselves and everyone else. If you have a beautiful view from your property, please consider that everyone potentially within that area that you can see, can see you back. That is especially so if you live on a mountainside or beside the lake shore. For people in that area, YOU ARE THE VIEW. It is your civic responsibility to minimize your impact on everyone else's view. If security is your concern, there are myriad options to minimize your impact. Lights on motion sensors can startle someone approaching, as well as alerting you that someone is approaching. It is not difficult to aim your lights downward or shield your lights so that they do not shine directly into the eyes of anyone beyond your property line or immediately adjacent roadway.

From the Skyglow Project web site:

"IMPACT ON ANIMALS & PLANT LIFE:

"Fireflies, which used to cover most of lower North America during the months of May through July, are one of the animal species devastated by light pollution. Relying on complete darkness to perform their mating rituals, fireflies have retreated into the last remaining dark areas of their habitat, decreasing their overall population by as much as 90 percent, according to some estimates.

"Birds that migrate or hunt at night navigate by moonlight and starlight. Artificial light can cause them to wander off course, migrate too early or too late, and miss ideal climate conditions for nesting, foraging, and other behaviors. Every year, millions of birds die colliding with needlessly illuminated structures.

"Trees have been shown to bloom too early due to artificial light. Later-budding trees such as ash trees are most affected by light pollution, which in turn impacts all the animal life that depends on those trees' natural bloom cycle."

I have teamed up with astronomy professor and local resident Bernie Reim on this project to protect the dark skies we enjoy around Province Lake. I encourage everyone to participate by reading the following principles and taking steps to try to meet them. No one is expecting you to do all of them or to be perfect, but each individual step that you DO take is an improvement that you can notice immediately after dark. You and everyone else will benefit. In most cases, you can make great strides with minimal effort. Rather than costing you money, you are sure to have net savings on your electric bill. The photo at right shows how the campground is properly lighting the flag located at the end of their dock. The small solar-powered light on top of the pole points downward, illuminating the flag and not much else.

Browntail Moth

Caterpillar, dorsal view, showing two red dots near tail

Invasive Browntail Moth caterpillars remain a major problem in Coastal Maine. This is not just the typical problem of being bad for trees, but an actual human health issue since shed hairs cause respiratory distress or poison-ivy type rashes. Province Lake is in the "Alert" area of the 2020 Browntail Moth Risk Map, where no detections have been noted. If you find these caterpillars here, the states want to know. Updated detections from the winter web survey can be seen on the Browntail Moth Interactive Map. See the 2018 report for more detailed information. You can learn much more at the following web sites:

Online Resources

I started the Province Lake Water Newsletter in 2013 to cover various topics related to water quality, invasive species, or other issues that have some bearing on the region surrounding Province Lake. I encourage you to sign up for these occasional emails (usually 2 to 3 per year) HERE. Signing up gets you the emailed newsletter only and your information will not be shared with anyone. You can easily unsubscribe or resubscribe at any time.

Last year's water quality report is posted HERE. That is the 2021 report, published online on July 28, 2022. Prior year reports going back to 2009 are also posted online for your reference.

There are now nearly 1,500 members of the Facebook group called "Province Lake, New Hampshire & Maine" (not affiliated with the any organization), where people interested in the lake and nearby areas can share information. Province Lake Campground and Jolly Roger Village also have Facebook groups primarily for members, and there has been outreach regarding water quality issues by that means. These Facebook groups have been used to post cyanobacteria warnings, official or otherwise.

THANK YOU NOTES: I want to thank Steve Craig for taking the lead on the water sampling activity since 2004. Steve has retired from that role and been replaced by Katie Jones since 2021. Welcome Katie! And thank you for taking on this valuable work!

The PLA partners with University of New Hampshire (UNH) Lakes Lay Monitoring Program (LLMP) and Bob Craycraft for the water quality work. PLA members assist in the coordination and collection of water samples, including providing boats to access the lake site. PLA membership dues finance the water sampling and lab analysis. Without PLA member support, this work would not be possible.

The PLA can always use more volunteers to help with sampling, etc. I have been given permission to say you are more than welcome to contact the PLA directly at president@provincelake.org if you want to help them with water quality work, weed watching, or anything else. If you contact me (at province-lake-water@cox.net) to express interest in volunteering, I will also pass on your information. You do not need to be a member of the PLA to volunteer, and have no obligation to join if you do volunteer, although new or returned members are always welcome. Dues are used to support efforts to improve lake quality.

On a more personal note, I have been actively involved in recruiting volunteers for citizen science projects in the last few years. Locally, this has included the Province Lake Secchi Club and Frog Watch. The Beech Leaf Disease Project covers the entire northeast U.S. My Dark Sky efforts are meant to encourage people around Province Lake to be better neighbors, protect the wildlife (of all sizes) in their immediate vicinity, cut their carbon emissions, and save themselves money on their electric bills, all at the same time. The difficulty I have found in finding people to help makes me REALLY appreciate the PLA-associated folks who sample the lake and inlets, patrol the lake as Weed Watchers, maintain the dam, clean up the beaches, and do other activities that benefit the environment and other folks. Please join me in appreciating them, but better yet, please join them in doing something. We will all be better off for it!

Thanks for your interest,
Norm Dudziak, P.E., I.M.

See Province Lake statistics HERE.

Photo at right is looking upstream, west, at the South River as it is about to flow
under the bridge on Middle Road in Parsonfield, Maine, about 3.5 miles as
the crow flies from where that water left Province Lake.

Footnotes

While making the change from VLAP to LLMP had multiple benefits, the downside is that the 23-year continuous record of consistent analyses by VLAP has been broken, so data are not always comparable. See the 2015 report for details of the impact, as specifically described by Sara Steiner, NH DES VLAP Coordinator, and the chlorophyll-a section of the 2021 report for an example. A much bigger impact will be due to the lost year of data from 2020, when no sampling of Province Lake was conducted due to pandemic restrictions.

While some still mistakenly use the term "algae" to refer to cyanobacteria, in this report "algae" is only used to refer to true algae. Cyanobacteria are bacteria, not algae; they are not even in the same biological kingdom. Algae are more closely related to YOU than they are to cyanobacteria! Other than both being microscopic cells, they are fundamentally different. See Footnote #2 of 2013 Newsletter #5 for a detailed explanation.

Note 3 of the "Final- 2008 List of All Impaired or Threatened Waters" stated "all surface waters in New Hampshire are also included on this list due to statewide fish/shellfish consumption advisories because of mercury levels in fish/shellfish tissue." The 2016 list includes a similar note. This issue is further explained in Question 1 of the 2012 Supplemental Report.

Legal Disclaimer: I am a degreed environmental engineer, licensed in Maine and other states, but my communications on this topic are educational in nature. Due to my professional engineering licenses, I am required to say that this communication does not constitute engineering work, even when using my engineering knowledge. I do not speak for anyone but myself, in the form of my company,
E and I Services, LLC.

Terms of Use: Anyone is allowed, even encouraged, to link to this page. However, no one is authorized by the author
or by E and I Services, LLC to copy the content and post it on another web site.
This web site is owned by E and I Services, LLC and has no affiliation with any other organization.
Copyright © 2023 by E and I Services, LLC. Copyrights apply to photos resident on this web site, except as noted or if the photos are presented by linkage to another web site. All rights reserved.

Water Quality Monitoring of Province Lake

Effingham & Wakefield, New Hampshire, and Parsonsfield, Maine