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Water sampling is done three times each summer by the Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District.
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11/17/2022: Lake water quality testing results are in. See below:
October 4, 2022: Bethany Chapin was back for more lake water quality measurements. A Secchi Disk showed 18 feet of clear water. A water sample was taken from a depth of 11 meters (about 30 feet) in Gilbert Two.
September 28, 2022: Bethany Chapin came by Gilbert Lodge to board the Minnow for a trip to the deepest part of Lake Two. She used GPS on her phone to find the spot where previous measurements were taken. The Secchi Disk showed 17.5 feet of clear water. Test results from water samples will be posted after they are received back from a lab.
July 8, 2022: Ross Brink was back to take additional water samples. The Secchi disk showed 14.5 feet of water before it disappeared. It is less than the 27.5 feet in the spring because of algae in the water.
A.W. Research Laboratories analyzed the water samples from the top and the bottom. The results are shown in this graph.
May 27, 2022: Ross Brink from the Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District came out to do sampling of lake water. Paul Jacobson gave him a ride to the center of Gilbert Two. A Secchi Disk showed 27.8 feet of clear water before it disappeared. That is an improvement over the 15.5 feet measured in July 2021. Water samples from the surface and bottom of the lake were taken. Results will be posted here once the water is analyzed in a lab. Click on any of the photos to see a larger version.
From Ross Brink: We're seeing chloride levels creep up which is kind of what we expect since there's nothing that can remove chloride once it's in the environment. Right now the graph's pretty flat because we're just starting to monitor chloride levels, but if we keep using salt the way we are now the trend will be much more pronounced in 50 years because chloride is cumulative.
September 14, 2021: Bethany Chaplin of the Minnesota Green Corps came to Gilbert Lodge to get a ride on The Minnow to do water testing in the middle of Gilbert Two.
July 21, 2021: Bethany Chaplin did testing while aboard the Minnow, with the help of Mark Persons from Gilbert Lodge. Testing was done in the center of Lake Two where the depth was 36 feet. A Secchi Disk was used to determine water clarity. It disappeared at 15.5 feet. That is fairly good. Water samples were sent to A&W Research for analysis.
The collected data:
The conductivity relates to the amount of salt in the water. More salt means higher conductivity. That salt or chloride typically gets into the water as runoff from roads in the winter.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency analysis of chlorides in lakes.
Crow Wing County water quality fact sheet.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency analysis of chlorides in lakes.
Crow Wing County water quality fact sheet.
