Diffuse/Watershed Land Use Impacts on Oligotrophic and Mesotrophic Lakes Relating to the Water Quality of Upper Stoney Lake

Diffuse/Watershed Land Use Impacts on Oligotrophic and Mesotrophic Lakes Relating to the Water Quality of Upper Stoney Lake

Lindsay Fisher and Brooke Ceci

Trent University

Tom Whillans

March 2022

Upper Stoney Lake is a freshwater lake in Peterborough County, Ontario, and is surrounded by various forms of infrastructure and anthropogenic activity. There are several different land usages in close proximity to the lake which have raised concern over the water quality and the health of the aquatic ecosystem itself; the nearness of the anthropogenic activity to the lake makes it susceptible to impacts associated with diffuse pollution. Diffuse pollution occurs when contaminates such as pesticides, chemicals, fecal bacteria, sediments, and nutrients travel and run off the land and into nearby surface waters and watersheds.The purpose of this study is to assess the impacts of diffuse pollution and watershed land use on Upper Stoney Lake and provide mitigation measures to reduce the intensity of the impacts these anthropogenic activities pose on the health of the aquatic ecosystem. Our research question is based around investigating how diffuse sources of pollution in the watershed impact the water quality and aquatic ecosystems of Upper Stoney Lake. In this report, we specifically research the effects of forestry and agricultural non-point sources of pollution to Upper Stoney Lake and mitigation measures to improve water quality.