New Report on the State of Lake Winnipesaukee

[Lake Winnipesaukee Alliance]

The Lake Winnipesaukee Alliance is excited to share with you our newly released digital report 'Signs of Decline: Assessing the State of Lake Winnipesaukee', the most comprehensive analysis to date of the lake’s water quality and watershed health.

As you explore this site, we invite you to reflect on what this report means for the future of the lake and how, together, we can protect its legacy.

In this Assessment we have brought together decades of scientific research and long-term data to give the public a clear picture of what is happening to Lake Winnipesaukee. The findings are sobering, but they also give us reason for optimism.

Lake Winnipesaukee remains an extraordinary natural resource, but the trend lines are moving in the wrong direction. Increasing stormwater runoff, faulty septic systems, and excessive road salt are the primary causes of declining water quality.

Among the Assessment’s most significant findings:

- Water clarity is declining. Long-term monitoring shows that the lake is becoming less clear, an important indicator of changing water quality.

- Phosphorus levels are increasing in the lake. Phosphorus is the nutrient that directly fuels excessive algae and cyanobacteria growth in freshwater lakes. Even relatively small increases can have significant consequences over time.

- Cyanobacteria abundance is increasing. Excessive cyanobacteria can result in blooms, as occurred in 2024, that impair recreational use of the lake and, under certain conditions, produce toxins harmful to people, pets and wildlife.

But perhaps the most important message of the Assessment is this:
we still have time to change the trajectory.

The State of the Lake Assessment presents the “science of the problems.” In the coming weeks we will be sharing the “science of the solutions”—showing how we will use what we now know to prioritize and implement actions to curb, and wherever possible, reverse these threatening trends.

Our job now is to build the resources, partnerships, and public commitment to act at the scale and pace the lake requires. The approach now needed to succeed are presented in LWA’s Legacy Strategy. Guided by the science, the Strategy’s Blueprint for Lasting Protection outlines the actions required to reduce pressures on the lake and increase its resilience to decline.

That is another reason for optimism: we know what needs to be done.

As the Assessment makes clear, we cannot do this alone. Success will require a true Alliance of municipalities, businesses, property owners, state agencies, conservation organizations, contractors, and others working together toward a common goal of safeguarding the lake.

On the foundation of science now in place, and with your continued support, we are building a new model for protecting Lake Winnipesaukee—one that can endure for generations to come.

Our time to act is now. Our Lake will not wait.

View the Assessment here.

Link to virtual press release.

[Mr. V]

No surprise: the deterioration of water quality mirrors overall climate and societal indifference.

Per Pogo: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

[LIforrelaxin]

Ok, But where can I look at the actual report......

BTW, nothing new here other than having actual data showing the decline.......the problems are what they have traditionally been.... unfortunately no one can or wants to stop progress..... and on an individual level no one perceives what they are doing as harmful....

[BillTex]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Ok, But where can I look at the actual report......

BTW, nothing new here other than having actual data showing the decline.......the problems are what they have traditionally been.... unfortunately no one can or wants to stop progress..... and on an individual level no one perceives what they are doing as harmful....

So true; lawn fertilizer, poor landscaping, paved driveways/hardscape. Folks want what they want-but don’t consider how they contribute to the decline in water quality.
We all come here for the lakes-what happens when they are uninhabitable? We all lose…
Think globally-act locally (your own yard)!

[MeredithMan]

Personally, I think this is a bit extreme. Anytime we have out-of-state guests, (especially from the south), they are amazed at how clear the lake is.

[camp guy]

Sometimes there is more truth in humor than there is humor in truth.

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by camp guy

Sometimes there is more truth in humor than there is humor in truth.

No doubt. But I think we all know that there is no truth in that comic. Go to the LWA website, or go for a swim yourself. You'll see a clean lake that is not quite as clean as it used to be, and is under threat to get worse. We should all just focus on protecting the lake while being grateful at the same time

[ApS]

Suppose a 3-foot high concrete seawall was built surrounding all of Winter Harbor.

Suppose nothing was done to limit over-sized boat use from "full-pond" until July 4th?

How long would it take for erosion of the shoreline to fill the seawall to the top with phosphorus-laden soil?

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by MeredithMan

Personally, I think this is a bit extreme. Anytime we have out-of-state guests, (especially from the south), they are amazed at how clear the lake is.

By this rationale, as long as rivers don't catch fire like the Cuyahoga, they're clean enough?

We shouldn't compare Winni to inferior, abused, or less-protected lakes, we should compare it to what it could, should, and will be long-term in relation to what is causing the degradation.

Sent from my SM-S931U using Tapatalk

[MeredithMan]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

By this rationale, as long as rivers don't catch fire like the Cuyahoga, they're clean enough?

We shouldn't compare Winni to inferior, abused, or less-protected lakes, we should compare it to what it could, should, and will be long-term in relation to what is causing the degradation.

Sent from my SM-S931U using Tapatalk

I totally get that news/political cartoons are generally full of hyperbole and meant to raise awareness. However, what I find extreme about this cartoon is that if I were an out-of-stater or someone who had no knowledge of Winnipesaukee and saw this, I would conclude that it is a gross body of water, worse than a toilet, and that is simply not the case.