Last year, I couldn't locate my mooring all season until October, when I dragged it to shore from just 15½' of water depth.
From the looks of the water clarity mid-April this year, clarity could grow much worse. Unless the level comes up, the sun will be warming the shallows sooner, encouraging algae blooms. Waterline inlets will become blocked again—was it in 1996?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Silver Duck
"...not all marinas have murky water in the cruiser slip area. At Shep Brown's, for instance, the water stays pristine throughout the boating season..."
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"Pristine" would describe water that was at least drinkable, such as we had up until 1970. In that year—thereabouts—the lake was reclassified as a class "B" lake—down from class "A". Wolfeboro's Brewster Academy began a water-quality study then although I don't know the conclusion of the study or where my contribution/share got spent.
The causes of degradation and algae production are many and, as stated previously, clarity is only one measure of lakewater quality.
Here are a few causes:
Phosphorus
Nitrogen
Aluminum/acid rain
Ridge development
Septic tanks
Loss of tree cover
Loss of ground cover, particularly pine needles
Take just one example—
Phosphorus:
Detergent-producers have made their products less "bubbly" for clothes washing by a major reduction of phosphorus content.
Dishwasher detergent manufacturers demanded an exemption from reducing or eliminating phosphorus—and got it.
In 1970, I doubt ¼ of Winnipesaukee cottages
had electric dishwashers: Today, all the new homes certainly do, and every time a "tear-down" gets replaced, ditto.
Both phosphorus and nitrogen, carried
by design into soil through septic leachate, foster algae growth as they arrive in the lake by gravity and rain.
I'll defer to member
shore things as to further discussion though: The topic is huge.
__________________________
We have met the enemy, and it is us.
—
Pogo