Community science-based monitoring reveals the role of land use scale in driving nearshore water quality in a large, shallow, Canadian lake

Abstract

Smith ED, Balika D, Kirkwood AE. 2021. Community science-based monitoring reveals the role of land use scale in driving nearshore water quality in a large, shallow, Canadian lake. Lake Reserv Manage. 37:431–444. As shorelines and watersheds become increasingly developed, lake condition declines due to nutrient enrichment, excess algae growth, and contaminant loading. Lake Scugog, a large shallow lake in southern Ontario, Canada, is no exception, and has been experiencing increased urban development in its agriculture-dominated watershed over the last few decades. By applying a 3-pronged co-production model (stewardship group, watershed authority, and university laboratory), a nearshore water quality monitoring program was implemented using a community-science approach. Nearshore water samples were collected over 3 years (2017–2019) by trained community scientists. We found strong relationships between water quality parameters and land use, at the buffer and subcatchment scale. The strength of the land use relationships varied by parameter and scale, where chloride was significantly predicted by buffer land use, and phosphorus was explained by development at the subcatchment scale. Based on the high rate of participation compliance, the community science approach proved to be effective for capturing spatially explicit water quality data, which allowed us to establish current baseline conditions in Scugog’s nearshore zone. Future watershed management should consider both scales of land use, but prioritize restoration efforts on the scale that corresponds to their specific water quality goals.