Adirondack Clean Waters Initiative
The Adirondack Clean Waters Initiative created a series of digital GIS databases that catalogued over 20 years of water quality data on Adirondack lakes and ponds. These data included water quality information (chemistry), morphological information (lake area, etc.), management information (liming, reclamation), and fisheries data (stocking records). The project was initially started in order to demonstrate that most what we know about Adirondack lakes and ponds is out of date and that we know nothing about a large proportion of the Park's waters. Once completed, however, advanced analyses were easy to conduct, providing the first and only way to interprete regional water quality trends in the 6 million acre Adirondack Park. We must always preface results of these analyses with the caveat that this is water quality was like in the 1980s.
Some example analyses are presented here. You can "zoom in" by clicking on each image. Use your browsers "back" button to return here.
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This figure illustrates the number of lakes in the Adirondack Park, including the ones for which we have essentially no data |
This figure illustrates the regional trend in lake acidity (pH) in the Adirondack Park, with the majority of the acidified lakes to the west. |
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This figures illustrates the regional trend in total phosphorus in the Adirondack Park, which is higher in lakes near towns and villages. |
This figure illustrates the regional trend in chloride concentration, primarily due to road salt. Chloride is highest in lakes near major roads, towns, and villages. |
