A volunteer opportunity for people who love to canoe on Chocorua Lake!

Do you enjoy being in and on Chocorua Lake all summer? Do you appreciate how clean and clear the water is? And…shhh…have you always wanted to know where the Deep Spot is?

One way Chocorua Lake Conservancy works to keep the lake water clean is by monitoring the water quality regularly every summer season so we can spot trends such as warming temperatures or changing pH before they become major problems.

To that end, CLC has long had a Water Quality Monitoring program, which was valiantly run by Dwight and Barbara Baldwin for many years. Three years ago, the Baldwins passed it on to a new team. The WQ team is now composed of four dedicated volunteers who are available most summer Sundays. But we can’t always be there. We are hoping to sign up some alternate volunteers who can join us if need be.

Many sunny Sunday mornings at 9 AM, a team of three people leaves from a dock on the Little Lake and paddles a canoe to the Deep Spot on the Big Lake to take water samples and measure the clarity and temperature of the water from the surface to the depths. Then we go back to our “lab” near the lake and measure the pH, conductivity, and alkalinity of our water sample. We then send water samples and our results to UNH, where a team of biologists analyzes other qualities of the water and produces lovely, comprehensive reports for us each year.

Come join us and learn how we take samples and analyze them, and enjoy a lovely Sunday morning on the lake! We only go out when the weather and water are clear, so there will be no torturous paddles in the wind and rain!

If you’re interested in being an alternate, please fill out this simple form:

We’ll get in touch and let you know when we need an alternate. Thank you!

Banner image: Monitoring water quality on Chocorua Lake. Photo: Alex Moot