Honey Harbour and Tadenac Bay Water Quality 2013 to 2016

Off shore waters of Georgian Bay rarely experience excessive nutrient concentrations however, small embayments such as Honey Harbour, North and South Bay have experienced oxygen depletion, increased total phosphorus, a decrease in water clarity and the presence of filamentous attached algae. Low water levels in southern Georgian Bay along with temperature and hydrologic changes represent additional water quality and aquatic habitat management challenges.To address these issues the Government of Canada initiated the Lake Simcoe / South-eastern Georgian Bay Clean-Up Fund. The Fund supports various projects to improve conditions and supports science efforts to advance understanding of these conditions. Here we present water quality and physical data to investigate the causes and consequences of oxygen depletion and characterize phosphorus. Samples were collected monthly 2013 to 2016 during the ice free season from 9 stations in North and South Bay, 10 tributaries and 9 stations in Tadenac Bay, an unimpacted embayment. Winter sampling occurred in 2015 and 2016 at select stations.