Water Monitoring on the Chain O’ Lakes

For many years volunteers of The Citizen Lake Monitoring Network (CLMN) have been collecting data on aspects of the Chain’s lakes and uploading them to the DNR’s Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System Database

(https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/SurfaceWater/SWIMS). The data include water clarity (determined using a Secchi disk), water temperature, and concentrations of chlorophyl and total phosphorous. Dissolved oxygen has also been sporadically measured. Beasley (Deep), Columbia, Long, Marl, and Pope Lakes have the most data, some of which extends back to the early 1990s. The data can be viewed at the DNR’s Water Explorer Website (https://dnr-wisconsin.shinyapps.io/WaterExplorer/?stationid=693197).

Currently, Long, Marl, and Pope Lakes are being sampled for water clarity, water temperature, and concentrations of chlorophyl and total phosphorous 4 times per year, but the program is expanding in 2025. The Waupaca Chain O’Lakes District (WCOLD) is sponsoring the addition of collecting phosphorous concentrations on Otter and Taylor Lakes and the collection of pH measurements throughout the Chain.

Also new this year, the WCOLD has positioned five sensors on the Chain; four that measure water temperature and from which water depth can be calculated and a rain gauge. The four sensors are located on Beasley Creek, Emmons Creek, the Crystal River, and Long Lake where the rain gauge is also located. The sensors collect data every 30 minutes and the data are then uploaded to the Cloud. The data can be viewed via a link on both the WCOLD and Waupaca Chain O’ Lakes Association web pages. The WCOLD hopes to be able to utilize the sensor data to also estimate the contributions of rainfall, streams, and springs to water flow on the Chain.

The purpose of these efforts is to both establish baselines for water flow and chemistry of the lakes and monitor their health. We are fortunate that today the Chain O’ Lakes are in excellent health and, by monitoring them, the WCOLD wants to catch any potential changes in their health early should they arise.