Significant Findings

The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Klamath Lake water-quality monitoring program collected data from multiparameter continuous water-quality monitors, weekly water-quality samples, and meteorological stations during May–November 2007 and 2008. The results of these measurements and sample analyses are presented in this report for 29 stations on Upper Klamath Lake and 2 stations on Agency Lake, as well as quality-assurance data for the water-quality samples. Some of the significant findings from 2007 and 2008 are listed below.

• In 2007-08, ammonia concentrations were at or near the detection limit at all stations during the second week in June, after which they began to increase, with peak concentrations occurring from July through November.
• The concentration of un-ionized ammonia, which can be toxic to aquatic life, first began to increase in mid-June and peaked in July or August at most sites. Concentrations of un-ionized ammonia measured in the Upper Klamath Lake in 2007–08 did not reach concentrations that would have been potentially lethal to suckers.
• Samples collected for the analysis of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) late in the 2007 season showed no evidence of an increase in DOC subsequent to the breaching of the Williamson River Delta levees on October 30.
• In 2007-08, the lakewide daily median of dissolved oxygen concentration began to increase in early June, and peaked in mid- to late June.
• The lakewide daily median pH began to increase from early June and peaked in late June (2007) or early July (2008). Lakewide daily median pH slowly decreased during the rest of both seasons.
• The 2007 lakewide daily median specific conductance values first peaked on July 1, coincident with a peak in dissolved oxygen concentration and pH, followed by a decrease through mid-July. Specific conductance then remained relatively stable until mid-October when a sharp increase began that continued until the end of the season. Lakewide specific conductance values for 2008 steadily increased through the season to a maximum in late September.
• Lakewide daily median temperatures in both years began to increase during the beginning of June and peaked in July. These temperatures persisted until late August to early September when a gradual decrease occurred.
• In 2007-08, water-quality conditions monitored at the Agency Lake northern and southern stations were similar to those in Klamath Lake.

First posted May 5, 2010