After a hot June but cool and sometimes smoky July, the algae bloom on Lake of the Woods started to develop in late July and early August as usual. Blooms began in the southern Big Traverse Bay and in the Morson-Sabaskong area to the south-east. By late August, the bloom covered 34% of the lake and has progressed northward through middle channel to Oak Point. Satellite-derrived measures of chlorophyll-a (a pigment in the algae) ranged above 40 µg/L (red in the satellite image) indicating severe bloom formation in a few locations (anything above 10 µg/L is considered a bloom).
Algal blooms in Lake of the Woods typically peak in the late fall, and progress into the north-central area of the lake. Thus, more extensive blooms are expected to come later, expanding in extent and severity into the fall. Last year, peak severity occurred on October 13, 2022. We’ll have a complete report on the annual bloom conditions later in the fall, once the satellite tracking is complete for the season.
The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation plays an essential role in coordinating the network of resource management agencies, government partners, and civil society contributors to watershed science and governance. This year, our coordination has been instrumental in driving forward the second phase of a project to develop recommendations for international water quality Objectives and Alert Levels for the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed. The International Joint Commission has oversight responsibilities for water quality in our watershed, so this project will be administered by the IJC watershed board’s Aquatic Ecosystem Health (AEH) Committee, which is co-chaired by the Foundation Executive Director, Todd Sellers.
Objectives are international standards agreed to by Canadian and U.S. governments for boundary waters. Alert Levels are IJC watershed board-adopted trigger thresholds for advising the IJC and governments of issues of potential concern, where there are no international Objectives established.
Join us for the 2023 series of free “Ask An Expert” webinars, as we study our watershed and learn how to protect our natural resource assets. Our lineup of experts have a wealth of knowledge and this is your chance to connect directly with them.
Seminars will consist of an expert presentations followed by a Q&A opportunity. Pre-registration is required. More details and registration for the seminars at the links below.
May 15 @ 1:00 p.m. CDT: "Who's Who in the Watershed" - Megan Garner (National Hydrologic Service - Environment and Climate Change Canada), Maria Jawaid (ECCC), Alexandra Lavictoire (Lake of the Woods Control Board), Abby Moore (US Army Corps of Engineers) & Teika Newton (Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation / International Joint Commission)
June 5 @ 1:00 p.m. CDT: "Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) and Monitoring" - Chris Herc (Grand Council Treaty #3 Territorial Planning Unit), Ashley Hoffmeister & the LakeSmart Team (Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association) & Amanda Weberg (Cook County Soil & Water Conservation District)
September 11 @ 1:00 p.m. CDT: "Climate Change in Our Basin" - Dr. Leif Olmanson (University of Minnesota), Dr. Scott Higgins (IISD-Experimental Lakes Area), Dr. Clare Nelligan
November 8 @ 1:00 p.m. CDT: "Review of the 2023 Field Season for Rainy - Lake of the Woods" - Shane Bowe (Red Lake Department of Natural Resources Water Resources Program), Dr. Adam Heathcote (Science Museum of Minnesota), Anna Baker (USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center).
November 27 @ 1:00 p.m. CST: "Review of the 2023 International Watershed Coordination Program" - Teika Newton (International Watershed Coordinator) and project partners (TBD).
The IJC’s International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board held its annual meetings with the public in Baudette, Minnesota on August 16 and Kenora, Ontario on August 17.
The IJC watershed board presented an update on its activities during the past year and key priorities for the coming year. The board's Aquatic Ecosystem Health Committee is leading several projects this year, including: focus on international water quality objectives and core monitoring design, studies of erosion at the south shore of Lake of the Woods, and reporting of exceedances of water quality criteria.
The board hosted guest updates from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Environment and Climate Change Canada on these agencies’ work to address the phosphorus loading that feeds the excessive algae blooms on Lake of the Woods.
Until international phosphorus objectives are agreed to by governments, the IJC watershed board has adopted an interim approach of reporting on exceedances compared to the most stringent water quality criteria used by local state, provincial, or federal agencies for these shared waters.
The IJC watershed board's Aquatic Ecosystem Health Committee co-chaired by LOWWSF's Todd Sellers, is leading the IJC International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board’s current compilation of its annual water quality exceedances report. The report draws on monitoring data provided by federal, state and provincial, and Indigenous agencies and will focus on phosphorus and related algae levels on Lake of the Woods and Rainy River, the principal water quality issues of international concern. Phosphorus is the primary nutrient feeding algae blooms and phosphorus loadings to the lake and its main tributary, the Rainy River, has been the focus of intensive studies by Minnesota and Canada.
The report will also present a summary of exceedances or spills (if any) of the permitted wastewater facilities discharging into the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods.
The report should be completed and submitted to the IJC in late fall – we’ll let you know when it is available and have a summary of findings on the Foundation website.
We’ve all seen the compelling satellite pictures of blue green algae blooms covering Lake of the Woods. As part of the Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Lake of the Woods Science Plan (2016-2020), Dr. Caren Binding developed a system to harness these images for near real-time tracking of algae blooms and computation of indices of bloom severity, intensity and extent across the lake. At that time, Dr. Binding launched an online tool, ECCC’s EOLakeWatch, for public access to this information. I highly recommend you check it out!
Coming soon is a “version 2.0” of the EOLakeWatch interactive visualization and data portal for the satellite image processing system. I’ve had an opportunity to view the beta version and am very impressed. It provides ability for the public to display and download maps, charts and data on bloom indices that can be customized to visually show daily values, 14-day averages, and current year blooms compared to the historical values from 2002 and on.
The Proceedings Report of the 2023 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum is available for download at the Foundation’s website: lowwsf.com/forum-proceedings. Held March 8-9 in International Falls Minnesota, 132 researchers, resource managers, policy makers, and members of the public put Lake of the Woods and its watershed under the microscope.
The report covers a wide range of subjects – Many of the 25 presentations this year focused on knowledge and tools that will inform management actions. The schedule was full, with research presentations split among six sessions covering a wide range of disciplines including: water quality management and monitoring, watershed management, nutrients and algal blooms and toxins, and emergent technologies for remote sensing and monitoring.
Please
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download a copy of the report now.(9.19 MB)
Mike Hirst, Resource Conservationist with the Lake of the Woods Soil and Water Conservation District is the 2023 recipient of the Kallemeyn Award, recognizing his outstanding professional achievements and contributions to collaborative research and resource management in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Basin.
The Kallemeyn Award was presented to Mike by the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation on behalf of the community of scientists and resource managers from the United States and Canada attending the 2023 International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum in International Falls, MN.