WATER QUALITY SUMMARY---2003

For almost 30 years, water quality monitoring data for Tripp has been collected.  Scott Williams, aquatic biologist, has tested the waters of Tripp Lake for various water quality data for the past 19 years.  He does this on alternate years, testing twice each summer.  Along with information garnered by John Laskey and George Kelly, Volunteer Lake Monitors for Tripp, the results are given to the Maine DEP and to us to determine trends. The State and the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP) collects results of  water quality, tracks algae blooms and determines water quality trends.  This data does not include bacteria, mercury or nutrients other than phosphorus.  

From the basic chemical information that has been collected, along with Secchi Disk Transparencies (SDT),    we find Tripp Lake to be considered average, based on measures of SDT,  total phosphorus (TP) and Chlorophyll-a (Chla).  The potential for nuisance algal blooms on Tripp is moderate.

 Water Quality Measures:  Tripp is a non-colored lake (average color 21 SPU) with an average SDT of 4.8m (15.8 ft.).  The range of water column TP is 6-13 parts per billion (ppb) with an average of 10ppb, while Chla ranges from 2.01- 12.9 ppb, with an average of 5.6 ppb. Recent dissolved oxygen (DO) profiles show moderate DO depletion in deep areas of the lake.  The potential for TP to leave the bottom sediments and become available to algae in the water column (internal loading) is low.