Lake Data
Water Transparency Readings
Phosphorus and Chlorophyll Data and Graphs
Dan Tuma volunteers in taking weekly water level and clarity readings and forwards the information to MPCA.
This summer's readings will be updated by MPCA in late spring of next year.
Kevin Skelly volunteers in taking monthly water samples and getting them to the lab for analysis.
Lake Volney 2014 TMDL Study 2022 2023 2024 2025
Phosphorus Reporting TP - 10% = Goal (ug/L) (ug/L) (ug/L) (ug/L)
May 36.0 70.0 84.0 60.5
June 36.0 126.0 84.0 62.5
July 36.0 59.0 49.0 79.3 40.9
August 36.0 45.0 28.0 136.3 33.0
Sept 36.0 35.0 24.0 36.1 23.1
Mean 67.0 53.8 83.9 49.2
Lake Volney 2022 2023 2024 2025
Chlorophyll Reporting (ug/L) (ug/L) (ug/L) (ug/L)
May 1.4 85.4 52.0
June 29.4 123.0 39.5
July 41.5 36.3 39.5 26.1
August 17.4 18.7 268.8 13.7
Sept 19.6 14.1 25.4 8.7
Mean 21.9 55.5 111.2 28.0
Note on testing. Lab sample testing was changed from MVTL to RMB labs between the years of 2023 and 2024. RMD labs / County did have start up issues in getting samples early in 2024. Therefore, you see no data collected for the first two months of 2024.
TMDL = Total Maximum Daily Load, a term used in water quality management to describe the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive in a day and still meet water quality standards.
Phosphorus is a critical nutrient in aquatic ecosystems, but when present in excessive amounts, it becomes a major pollutant. Its overabundance is often linked to harmful algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and declining water quality.
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in all green plants and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Chlorophyll is essential to photosynthesis, a process where plantsconvert sunlight into chemical energy.
Along with phosphorus, chlorophyll is often used to estimate productivity in a water body. Productivity refers to the amount of plant and animal life that a lake or river can support. Low productivity lakes are called oligotrophic, while high productivity lakes are called eutrophic.
We tend to see algae blooms and associated fish die-offs in lakes that are eutrophic and hypereutrophic.
Chlorophyll - Water Quality Guide - DataStream
Chlorophyll - Water Quality Guide - DataStream
Historical Data of 2009 and 2010
Total Phosphorus goals for Lake Volney and the
actual NCHF ecoregion standard.
TP (ug/L) actual TP (ug/L) minus 10%
NCHF Deep 40 36