Kipabiskau Lake - 600m southeast of Kipabiskau Regional Park

Kipabiskau

Saskatchewan, Canada

Location created by
Citizen Science

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Algae green and blue thick solid

03 Sep 11:00 by Lillie and Ashley Dennis

Algae visible in bay areas but minimal in open water as supported by secchi depth of 1.9 m
Weed growth on west end with lower water levels has created a problem getting boats off lifts late in the season. Our Park Board is considering purchase of our own weed cutter which would definitely help with this problem. Water levels are down at least 12 inches.

24 Sep 09:30 by AL BRADSHAW

PH measured with a meter with previous samples using test strips. Heavy weed growth on north shore line on west end of the lake. Mechanical weed cutting was done mid July and we should have waited for another 2 weeks as getting off boat lifts to deeper water is becoming difficult. Also water level is down over a foot with water just up to the rocks with some sand showing. Minimal algae growth all season which may be due to nutrient competition with the weeds however new owner of a 3500 cow/feedlot operation on our south shore has also taken steps to lessen his footprint down stream which will benefit Kip.

19 Aug 11:30 by AL BRADSHAW

Custom weed cutting done July 20/22 on west end of lake. Weeds heavy on shallow water areas. Water remains clear with minimal algae present on lake. Fishing has been good to excellent with numerous small walleye also being caught and released.

28 Jul 16:15 by AL BRADSHAW

Water levels back to normal after drought conditions in 2020 and 2021. Water flowing over the weir on the east end. Prior to drought years we would have dill type algae in the water column by early July. No evidence of any algae growth to date and weeds just starting to emerge. During the dry cycle weed growth on the north shore was noticeably thicker to the point we did mechanical cutting last July. Cutter is booked again however with sunlight unable to reach deeper weeds we hope not to cut. Minimal algae last 2 summers which may be due to competition with weeds for nutrients.

27 Jun 16:10 by AL BRADSHAW

Ice out May 12 2022. Above average snow fall and spring rains have increased lake levels from last years drought conditions to normal levels. Water is clear. No weed growth todate.

06 Jun 11:45 by AL BRADSHAW

Water level is down at least 24 inches with minimal rain all season. Water is clear with weed growth fallen to the bottom and obviously dying off. Leaves all off. Beautiful fall day.

28 Oct 10:05 by AL BRADSHAW

Area has been in drought conditions for past 2 years with minimal rain and spring runoff. 40 year residents do not recall the lake being this low. Water clarity has been excellent although weed growth is becoming an issue with mechanical harvesting done in Aug and planned for next July.
No or minimal algae growth with the thought that the increased weed growth is competing for nutrients.

28 Sep 09:00 by AL BRADSHAW

We have had minimal or no rain all season and had very little spring runoff. July was in the 30s for most of the month and area crops are very poor. Lake level is down at least 12 inches with 5 feet of beach showing in front of the rock shore in some areas. We have had no visible algae the last 2 years however weed growth has increased significantly with low water levels making boat traffic in and out of docks on the west end difficult.
We hired a mechanical weed harvester to remove weeds Aug 14th weekend which greatly improved boat traffic to deeper water. This will probably be an annual thing. Still no visible algae however secchi depth only 1m and water murky.

21 Aug 14:15 by AL BRADSHAW

Our lake has experienced an increased weed growth growing further from shore and making it difficult to get boats off lifts and into deeper water. We are applying for a permit for a mechanical weed removal. On positive side the last 2 years we have had no dill type algae in the water column and to date no floating algae. Our water is clear for several meters out although the secchi depth was only 1.7 m in 7 meters of water at the middle of the lake. We are in a definite dry cycle with minimal rain since spring and minimal or no runoff. Lake is over a foot lower than normal.

25 Jul 01:10 by AL BRADSHAW