2015 Attitash oxygen testing started April 15

Lake Attitash Association President Tod Campbell measures oxygen levels to help fine-tune a plan for fighting cyanobacteria.

The 2015 Attitash water sampling season began on April 15 when Tod Campbell, president of the Lake Attitash Association, took the first set of dissolved oxygen readings at the deepest location in the lake. These readings will continue weekly through most of the summer and are the final pieces of the puzzle needed to design a comprehensive plan for fighting cyanobacteria (blue-green algae).

The association’s board of directors is expecting to hire one of the foremost lake management experts in the region, Dr. Kenneth Wagner of Water Resource Services, to devise and direct a plan based on data from several sources, including a recent study from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To help him optimize the plan, Wagner needs to know the oxygen content of the lake water and how it changes through the summer at various depths. Data collection by association volunteers is expected to reduce the cost of the program by several thousand dollars.

The association needs more volunteers to conduct the testing during the summer  months. Anyone interested in helping should contact the association.