Inland Lakes Program

  Harmful Algal Blooms and Algal Toxins web page

 Inland Lakes Sampling Procedure Manual [PDF 1,259K]

 2010 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report web page 

Ohio EPA Lake Selection Criteria:

1. Identify lakes within the watersheds where TMDL field sampling is occurring
    
2. Identify public drinking water lakes or lakes with heavy recreation
    
3. Identify possible impaired lakes
    
4. Identify lakes that need to be assessed for other programmatic needs

2012 Sampling

Ohio EPA Division of Surface Water will participate in the 2012 National Lake Survey.  The Northeast District Office and Central District Office will sample16 lakes for this survey.  Again this year, Northeast District Office and Northwest District Offfice will sample the Lake Erie nearshore, which is funded by a GLRI grant.

In addition,  Ohio EPA Division of Surface Water will sample 20 inland lakes as part of our Inland Lakes Monitoring program.  They are as follows:

Central District Office (Mill Creek Study Basin)

• Madison Lake(Year 2) Madison County
• Hargus Lake (Year 2) Pickaway County
• Deer Creek Lake (Year 2) Pickaway/Fayette Counties
• Buckeye Lake - Nutrient Reduction Strategy Study. Fairfield/Licking/Perry Counties 

Southwest District Office (East Fork Little Miami River Study Basin) 

• Caesar's Creek Lake (Year 2) (Wilmington PWS) Warren/Clinton/Greene Counties
• Stonelick Lake (Year 1) Clermont County

Southeast District Office (Stillwater Creek Study Basin)

• Pike Lake (Year 2) Pike County
• Ross Lake (Year 2) Ross County
• Caldwell Lake (Year 2) Ross County
• Stewart Lake (Year 2) Ross County
• Lake White (Year 2) Pike County
• Piedmont Reservoir (Year 1) Belmont/Harrison Counties
• Tappan Lake (Year 1) (Cadiz PWS) Harrison County
• Clendening Reservoir (Year 1) Harrison County

Northwest District Office (Ten Mile Creek and Maumee Mainstem Study Basin)

• Lake Olander (Year 2) Lucas County 
• Auglaize Power Reservoir (Year 1) Defiance County
• Grand Lake St. Marys (Celina PWS) (monitoring in support of alum treatment) Mercer/Auglaize Counties

Northeast District Office (Black River Study Basin)  

• Meander Reservoir (Year 2) (Youngstown PWS) Mahoning/Trumbull Counties
• Findlay Lake (Year 1) Hancock County

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2008 Sampling

Ohio EPA Division of Surface Water completed our first year of lake sampling in 2008.
The eight lakes sampled in 2008 are:

• Buckeye Lake – Fairfield, Licking, Perry Counties
• Clear Fork Reservoir – Richland, Morrow Counties
• Swift Run Lake – Miami County
• Vets Memorial Reservoir (Fostoria Reservoir #6) – Hancock County
• Frazier Quarry (Maysville Regional Water District Reservoir) – Muskingum County
• Dillon Lake – Muskingum County
• Cutler Lake (Blue Rock Lake) – Muskingum County
• Deer Creek Lake – Stark County

2009 Sampling

The fifteen lakes we sampled in 2009 are:

• Vets Memorial Reservoir (Fostoria Reservoir #6) – Hancock County (finish up five samples)
• Beaver Creek Reservoir – Seneca County
• Akron water supply reservoirs (East Branch Reservoir, LaDue Reservoir and Lake Rockwell)
• Frazier Quarry (Maysville Regional Water District Reservoir) – Muskingum County (finish up five samples)
• Cutler Lake (Blue Rock Lake) – Muskingum County (finish up 5 samples)
• Barnesville – Belmont County (3 reservoirs) 
• Woodsfield – Monroe County
• Griggs Reservoir  – Franklin County
• O'Shaugnessey Reservoir – Delaware County
• Kiser Lake – Champaign County
• Lake Loramie – Shelby County

Note: Lakes sampled in 2009 will be sampled 5 times in 2009 and 5 times in 2010 unless otherwise noted.

2010 Sampling

The sixteen lakes we are sampling in 2010 are:

• Lake Vesuvius – Lawrence County 
• Metzger Reservoir – Allen County
• Beaver Creek Reservoir – Seneca County (finish up 5 samples)
• Akron water supply reservoirs (East Branch Reservoir, LaDue Reservoir and Lake Rockwell) (finish up 5 samples)
• Barnesville – Belmont County (3 reservoirs)  (finish up 5 samples)
• Woodsfield – Monroe County  (finish up 5 samples)
• Timber Ridge -Gallia County
• Griggs Reservoir – Franklin County  (finish up five samples)
• O'Shaugnessey Reservoir – Delaware County  (finish up 5 samples)
• Kiser Lake – Champaign County (finish up 5 samples)
• Lake Loramie – Shelby County (finish up 5 samples)

Also, Grand Lake St. Marys in Mercer/Auglaize counties will be sampled 5 times in 2010 to collect baseline water quality data in conjunction with the multi- agency water quality improvement initiatives.

• 2010 Ohio EPA Water Quality Data for Grand Lake St. Marys [PDF 50K]

Buckeye Lake will be sampled 5 times again this year in conjunction with microcystin sampling Ohio DNR will be conducting.

Note: The first two lakes listed for sampling in 2010 will be sampled 5 times this year and 5 times in 2011.  All the other lakes listed (except Grand Lake St. Marys and Buckeye Lake) for 2010 will be be sampled the second, and last, time in 2010.

 2011 Sampling

The seventeen lakes we are sampling in 2011 are:

Southwest District Office 

• Caesar's Creek Lake (Year 1) (Wilmington PWS) Warren/Clinton/Greene Counties

Southeast District Office

• Vesuvius (Year 2) Lawrence County
• Timber Ridge (Year 2) Gallia County
• Pike (Year 1) Pike County
• Lake White (Year 1) Pike County
• Ross Lake ( Year 1) Ross County
• Caldwell Lake (Year 1) Ross County
• Stewart Lake (Scioto Trails S.P.) (Year 1) Ross County

Central District Office

• Madison Lake (Year 1) Madison County 
• Deer Creek Reservoir (Year 1) Pickaway/Fayette Counties
• Hargus Lake (Year 1) Pickaway County

 Northwest District Office

• Metzger Reservoir (Lima PWS) ( Year 2) Allen County
• Grand Lake (Celina PWS) (Year 2)  Mercer/Auglaize Counties
• Lake Olander (Year 1) Lucas County

Northeast District Office

• Meander Reservoir (Youngstown PWS) (Year 1) Mahoning/Trumbull Counties

Background

Ohio EPA initiated a new Inland Lakes Program on March 1, 2006. A lakes monitoring and assessment program has been identified as a key area for development in Ohio EPA's Surface and Ground Water Monitoring Strategy 2005-2009 [PDF 941K].

A State Inland Lakes Team was formed with representatives of all Ohio EPA district offices, the Division of Drinking and Ground Waters, and the Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife. The first task was to complete an Inland Lake Assessment Methodology in the form of a white paper by the end of 2006 to determine how collected lake data will be used to integrate with other Ohio EPA programs in the future, such as:

• Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) page,
• Water Quality Standards page, and
• Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report page.

The White Paper was completed on December 29, 2006. The State Inland Lakes Team provided additional information in the 2007 Annual Update and has revised the Inland Lakes Sampling Procedure Manual. 

The kick-off of the new Ohio EPA Inland Lakes Program was in 2008. Information obtained during the 2008 sampling season was reported in the 2010 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report for those lakes sampled 10 times during the 2008 field season. Vets Memorial Reservoir, Frazier Quarry, and Cutler Lake were sampled 5 times in 2008 and five times in 2009.  Water quality results from these lakes will be reported in the 2012 Integrated Report.

The Integrated Report fulfills the State’s reporting obligations under Sections 305(b) and 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act. The report indicates the general condition of Ohio’s waters and lists those waters that are currently impaired and may require Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) development in order to meet water quality standards. Inland lakes will be an important component of that assessment.

Ohio EPA will look for opportunities to partner with the Surface Water Volunteer Monitoring Program to assist us with lake data collection.

The National Lake Survey

Ohio EPA completed our participation in the U.S. EPA sponsored National Lake Survey during the 2007 field season. For more information, see the following links:

• National Lake Survey Fact Sheet [PDF 802K]
• Ohio Lakes in the National Lake Survey [PDF 32K]
• Satellite Fly-Over Dates for Ohio Lakes in the National Lake Survey [PDF 11K]

• Draft National Lake Assessment Report [PDF 13MB] and National Lake Assessment Report Fact Sheet [PDF 167K]

Links To Information About Lakes and Watersheds 

• National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue [PDF 7,799K]
• A Lake Management Primer for Non-Scientists [PDF 1,346K]
• Natural Lakes in Ohio [PDF 105K]
• Ohio Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program page
• Ohio Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Plan 2005-2010 - Environmental Targets and Priorities page
• Ohio Water Resource Inventory, Vol.3: Ohio's Public Lakes, Ponds & Reservoirs, 1996 [PDF 1,779K]
• Biological & Water Quality Study of Bass Lake, 2002 [PDF 869K]
• Sediment, Waste Material, Surface Water and Fish Community Study of Pioneer Lake, July 10, 1995 [PDF 141K]
• Important Concepts and Elements of an Adequate State Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Program, August 8, 1997 [PDF 4,253K]
• Ohio DNR Public Fishing Areas: Lake and River Maps page
• Ohio EPA Ohio Sport Fish Consumption Advisory page
• Ohio EPA Wetland Ecology Section page
• Ohio EPA Surface Water Volunteer Monitoring Program page
• Ohio EPA Storm Water Rules page
• Ohio Lake Management Society page
• North American Lake Management Society page
• 1999 Black River TSD - Findley Lake Data [PDF 2,884K]
• 1999 Cuyahoga River TSD - Long Lake Data [PDF 942K]
• 1997 Little Cuyahoga River TSD - Nesmith Lake, Summit Lake, Mogadore Reservoir Data [PDF 1,632K]
• 1998 Biological and Water Quality Study of the Black Fork, Rocky Fork and Jerome Fork of the Mohican River and Selected Tributaries (Clear Fork, Pleasant Hill, and Charles Mill reservoirs) [PDF 1,785K]
• Manual of Ohio EPA Surveillance Methods and Quality Assurance Practices, 2009 [PDF 198K]
• University of Wisconsin - Extension page

Contact Information

For more information about the developing Inland Lakes Program and Harmful Algal Bloom Initiative, contact:

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