Lesser Slave Lake is vastly important to our region for many reasons, and maintaining lake water quality and fish habitat are important to the LSWC and people in our watershed. This monitoring program establishes a data set that will help us assess the condition of our rivers and make informed watershed and land management decisions.  

Monitoring Tributaries

LSWC staff sample 16 sites along 10 rivers 10 times between April and October of each year.  Temperature, pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen are measured in the field along with field observations.  Samples are collected and sent to an accredited lab and analyzed for: suspended solids, fecal coliform bacteria, total nutrients, dissolved nutrients, metals, dissolved metals and trace ions. 

Monitoring the Lesser Slave Lake

Due to the large size of Lesser Slave Lake, the water quality does not see rapid seasonal or annual changes like smaller lakes in central Alberta. The government of Alberta has been tracking lake levels and monitoring lake water quality since the 1940’s. In the summer of 2021 Alberta Environment and Protected Areas staff collected samples and took field measurements at locations in the east and west basins of Lesser Slave Lake. The LSWC receives many requests for lake water quality information from stakeholders and the public, so we asked our partners at the Alberta Lake Management Society to prepare a Lakewatch report for LSL based on the 2021 water quality data.