2012 Annual Spring Meeting
KLSA’s Spring meeting at the Buckhorn Community Centre, on May 5th, was attended by 120 area residents, volunteers, lake water scientists, lake stewards, cottage association reps and area politicians. Featured topics included KLSA’s 2011 Lake Water Quality Report (see sidebar link), Dr. Emily Porter-Goff -Algae in the Kawartha Lakes, Dr. Paul Frost -Shoreline Development Nutrient Inputs, Tom Cathcart -Health Risks of Blue-Green Algae, Mike Hendren -Natural & Cultural Heritage in the Kawarthas, Chris Appleton -Lake Management Planning and Kathleen Mackenzie -this summer’s water testing program. Watch for the new “Algae in the Kawarthas” guide to be released later this summer.
Algae: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Our 2011 annual report is ready! Click the left side link to download the 2011 Annual Report: Algae: Too Much of a Good Thing? With 74 pages illustrated and packed with ground-breaking research on algae, milfoil weevils, sewage treatment plants, lake water analyses, lake management planning, flow rates, shoreline landscaping, and much more.
Successful Fall AGM for KLSA
Thanks to around 65 participants, the KLSA AGM, at the newly renovated Lakehurst Hall/Community Centre, 979 Lakehurst Circle Rd was another successful event. Guest speaker Helen Batten, of Basterfield & Associates Landscape Architects, spoke about waterfront development and naturalized shorelines to encourage lake water quality. Richard Ovcharovich, from the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit gave a presentation on cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae). Other topics include an update on the Sturgeon Lake Management Plan, by Dave Pridham, 2011 lake water test results, Sewage Treatment Plant report card and the report of the Chair.
Blue-Green Algae
If a blue-green algae bloom is suspected, the Peterborough County-City Health Unit recommends residents assume toxins are present, avoid using the water and call the Ministry of the Environment Spills Action Centre at 1-800-266-6060. http://pcchu.peterborough.on.ca/
Water Soldier Invasive in Trent River
2012 Volunteer Water Testing Instructions
Complete instructions for the summer 2012 E.coli and Phosphorus testing are available on-line. Click here for the testing instructions.
New: Weevil Guide
Check out our new Guide to the Milfoil Weevil. Can this tiny insect be the answer to controlling invasive Eurasian milfoil? Click here for the full report.
Sturgeon Lake Management Plan
Kawartha Conservation has information about the SLMP on their website at http://www.kawarthaconservation.com/sturgeonlake/index.html
Colour maps of the Kawarthas
Check pages 39 to 43 of the 2009 Annual Report (left sidebar). Developed for us by Fleming College students, these dandy new maps show geology of the watershed, and sources of peak water flow in summer and in winter. How much water drains in from the low-phosphorus Canadian Shield land to the north? How much from the agricultural land to the south? The results are surprising. You can print these maps at home.
Lindsay storm sewer outfall report
Released April 2010. There’s a summary version in our 2009 Annual Report: A decade of stewardship (on the sidebar at left.) Click here for the full scientific report prepared for KLSA by Fleming College students. Is human sewage reaching the Scugog River, the source of Lindsay’s drinking water?
Who we are
The Kawartha Lake Stewards Association is a nonprofit, completely volunteer organization of cottagers and year-round residents formed to monitor the water quality of the Kawartha Lakes.
Get current news and discussion about what’s happening on our lakes.
How can we help you?
Founded in 2000, KLSA represents 24 cottager associations on more than a dozen lakes along the Trent Severn Waterway. KLSA partners with three levels of government as well as local businesses.
With help from studies by:
-Dr Paul Frost, David Schindler Professor of Aquatic Science, Trent University
-Dr. Eric Sager and colleagues at Trent University’s Oliver Ecological Centre, and
-partnerships at Fleming College in Lindsay, KLSA is doing ground-breaking research on invasive plant species, sources of nutrients in the lakes, and other areas of emerging concern. Public education has become a key part of our work. In the meantime, our core testing programs for bacteria and total phosphorus continue.
Every year we publish a well-received report describing our test results, research programs, and related information about our watershed. To view these reports, click on one of the links at the left of your screen. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or if you would like to become involved.
In 2008, Cottage Life magazine recognized our efforts with its Green Cottager award. To read all about that click here.
KLSA is grateful for funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to support its new 2010-2012 algae research project in the Kawartha Lakes. 
