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About Water Quality Data

WATER SAMPLING

OLWQS uses a pontoon boat to collect water quality measurements on Osoyoos Lake. Every year between May and October, a team of volunteers is responsible for collecting measurements every two weeks from four monitoring stations. Measurements are taken every two vertical meters at each station (see below).

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Water quality measurements are captured using a YSI ProQuatro water sampling system. Measurements collected are used to generate twice monthly water quality reports. Once completed, this report is shared on our website, and sent to the B.C. Lake Stewardship and Monitoring Program, the Okanagan Nation Alliance and others for their use.

WATER MONITORING STATIONS

Osoyoos Lake monitoring stations data is summarized in the grid below. Latitude and Longitude coordinates help identify sampling locations across the North, Central, and South basins of the lake.

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WATER QUALITY METRICS

  • Temperature (°C): Temperature of water at a given depth. Sockeye salmon prefer a water temperature between 5° – 10°. They can tolerate temperatures up to 17° but anything above 23° is fatal.
     

  • Dissolved Oxygen (mg/100L): Measures the amount of dissolved (free) oxygen in water. Fish require specific levels of dissolved oxygen to breathe properly. Salmon can tolerate concentrations between 5 – 10 mg/100L but generally prefer a range of 7mg – 8mg.
     

  • Specific Conductivity (μS/cm): Measures the ability of water to conduct electrical current, which is a measurement of water salinity and other dissolved inorganic solids. Excessive salinity impacts fish digestion and reduces water drinkability for humans.
     

  • pH (0-14): Measures the acidity vs. alkalinity of a liquid such as water. 0 is most acidic, 7 is neutral, 14 is most basic (alkaline). Because sockeye salmon migrate from the ocean to freshwater, they have a fairly wide tolerance range, typically 5 – 9. Acidity and alkalinity impact drinkability and other water uses for humans.
     

  • Secchi Depth (m): Measures the transparency of water using an alternating black-and-white Secchi disk that is lowered into the water until it is no longer visible. Higher values (in meters) represent greater water clarity; lower values mean the water is cloudier, or turbid, which impacts human enjoyment of the lake, as well as the ability for fish to locate their prey. A depth reading of 2 meters or greater is considered good. Note that water clarity tends to vary seasonally.

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