DOI: 10.25976/g6wg-f476
title: Carleton River Watershed Area and Tusket Catchment

description: The Carleton River Watershed monitoring program was initiated in 2008 to investigate the causes of water quality issues, primarily algal blooms, within a number of lakes in the watershed. Initial annual surveys up to 2011 were conducted by the Acadia University Centre for Estuarine Research with funding from Nova Scotia Environment. These initial studies identified many of the lakes in the Carleton River Watershed were seriously degraded as the result of nutrient over-enrichment. In 2013 and 2014, the Tusket River Environmental Protection Association (TREPA) conducted the annual surveys with the Acadia University Centre for Estuarine Research assisting with the 2013 survey. The Carleton River Watershed Area Water Quality Monitoring Steering Committee was established in 2015 with one of its main goals/objectives to provide guidance, oversight and management of a long-term sustainable water quality monitoring and reporting program in the watershed.  Since 2015 a volunteer monitoring program has primarily conducted annual monitoring. Annual monitoring data results are reviewed and reported on an annual basis, including water quality trend analysis to assist decision makers with watershed management in the Carleton River and other watersheds in NS. The program acknowledges Nova Scotia Environment (NSE), which has been the primary program funder since 2008, and the volunteers who make the sampling program happen.

For the most part NSE supports the sampling program for 11 lakes (Provost, Hourglass, Nowlans, Placides, Porcupine, Wentworth, Parr, Ogden, Fanning, Sloans and Vaughn). TREPA typically organizes funding for Raynards, Salmon, and Kegeshook. TREPA has sampled water quality (field and lab analysis) in other lakes since 2008, which are included in this dataset.
description: Sampling occurs for three events spring (May), summer (August) and fall (October)) with all study lakes sampled during the summer event. All volunteers have a thermometer, Secchi disc and water depth sampler. Date, time, general wind and sun conditions, and visible algae along travel route to monitoring site are recorded. Cloud cover during Secchi disc depth reading is also recorded. Air temperature plus water temperature at 0.25m, twice the Secchi disc depth, and 1 meter off the bottom are taken. A composite water sample consisting of 50% taken at twice the Secchi disc depth and 50% at 0.25m depth is taken at the deepest location on the lake. The summer event also collects a sample taken 1 meter off the bottom at the deepest location on the lake when most lakes are typically thermally stratified. In addition, various inlets and outlets are sampled, primarily during the spring events and in select years when additional support was available. Samples are submitted primarily to the Nova Scotia Health Authority Environmental Services Laboratory and analysed for total phosphorus, orthophosphate, nitrate, ammonia, total nitrogen, colour, chlorophyll a, and pH. Analysis for blue green algae species and select algal toxin concentrations has been conducted during select years until 2019. Prior to 2015 a Van Dorn sampler and YSI Professional Plus meter were used to collect data, and some analysis was done at AGAT Laboratories.
description: During each sampling period one duplicate sample is sent to the lab for analysis.