Water Quality
FOLQ has performed water quality testing of Lake Quannapowitt for more than thirty years in cooperation with local students and volunteers from the community. As part of FOLQ’s mission, we support initiatives and projects that will improve the water quality of the lake. In conjunction with the Town of Wakefield testing requirements by the state, the FOLQ Water Quality Committee and Board of Directors have re-established our testing program for the lake after the pandemic.
The information on this page details our current and historic efforts in water quality monitoring and evaluation.
Click the links below to learn more about each topic.
Water Quality Overview | Water Quality Monitoring | Testing Methodology
Test Results | Presentations | Historical Reports
Water Quality Overview
(Jump to: Water Quality Monitoring | Testing Methodology | Test Results | Presentations | Historical Reports)
Water quality describes the condition of the water including chemical, physical and biological characteristics, usually with respect to its suitability for a particular purpose like drinking and swimming. It is often referred to as Environmental Water Quality, when it relates to water bodies such as lakes, rivers and oceans.
Water quality is measured by several factors, such as dissolved oxygen, bacteria levels, salinity and turbidity, which is material suspended in the water. In some water bodies, they also have a concentration of microscopic algae and quantities of pesticide, herbicides, heavy metals and other contaminants.
- Good water quality is the most important component of a healthy ecosystem. Cleaner waters enhance recreational opportunities, wildlife activity, plant growth and general enjoyment of the waters.
- Poor water quality can pose health risks for people, animals and wildlife, and it can also pose a health risk to the ecosystem.
Over the years, the lake has experienced a number of “algae blooms,” which you can visually see as a discoloration or a green color. It develops from a rapid growth of algae from organisms like cyanobacteria. Pollutants arrive in the lake through the storm runoff overland and through the Town storm drain system and are developed from nutrients within the lake itself, like nitrogen or phosphorus.
Water Quality Monitoring
(Jump to: Water Quality Overview | Testing Methodology | Test Results | Presentations | Historical Reports)
Friends of Lake Quannapowitt
FOLQ’s new testing program was established in 2023 to monitor the lake over time to record the cyanobacteria, nitrogen and phosphorus data. Our program also includes a test that documents the lakes clarify, known as the Secchi Disk measurement. In 2024, we added a method to measure the amounts of several additional substances, including arsenic and E.coli. This data, along with the Town’s information can be used to look at surface and in-lake solutions to improve water quality.
Town of Wakefield
The Town participates in monitoring water quality through their Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (Small MS4) and National Environmental Discharge Elimination System (NDPES) general permit, by testing the lake water that leaves the lake at the outlet, which is at the headwaters to the Saugus River, near the intersection of Lowell Street and Main Street. Find more information on the Town of Wakefield’s Stormwater Website.
Municipalities use this information as a planning tool for restoring water quality. The Town of Wakefield has completed several projects to improve water quality around the lake which can be found on their website under Public Works via their interactive map showing planning, design and construction phases. Find more information on the Town of Wakefield’s Public Works website. FOLQ understands that their future projects planned include the Main Street Improvements, which will tackle water quality improvement measures at the storm drain inlets to the lake along Main Street.
The Town’s Board of Health is responsible for the formulation and enforcement of regulations affecting the public health, disease prevention and control, health and environmental protection, and promotion of a healthy community. Permanent signs are posted along the lakeshore to educate lake visitors about the risks associated with water quality issues in Lake Quannapowitt.
Saugus River Watershed Council
The Saugus River Watershed Council (SRWC) also does water quality testing, which can be found here: Saugus River Watershed Council.
Testing Methodology
(Jump to: Water Quality Overview | Water Quality Monitoring | Test Results | Presentations | Historical Reports)
Testing Procedures: Water samples and Secchi disk measurements are generally taken three times per year. These can include:
- Cyanobacteria cell counts, species identification, and microcystin assays. Samples are shipped overnight “on ice” to Northeast Laboratories in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
- Phosphorus and nitrate. These are processed at Northeast Environmental Labs in Danvers, MA.
Testing Laboratories: These labs are certified and were recommended to us by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MassDPH) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). We are learning and utilizing the water sampling protocols that are recommended by MassDPH.
Testing Locations: The various historical and current testing locations are shown on the image below, and are indicated on the test result charts.
Test Results
(Jump to: Water Quality Overview | Water Quality Monitoring | Testing Methodology | Presentations | Historical Reports)
In 2025, levels of the following substances were measured in May, July, and August: Cyanobacteria, Microcystins, Total Phosphorus, Reactive Soluble Phosphorus and Orthophosphate, Nitrates and Nitrites, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, Secchi Disk Depth, Trophic State Index, Alkalinity, pH, Chloride, Chlorophyll a, Sample Temperature, Arsenic, Sodium, Sulfate, Calcium, Conductivity, Fluoride, Hardness, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Total Coliforms, E. Coli, Lead, and Total Dissolved Solids.
Graphs of all the substances listed above can be found by clicking the link below. The link also includes previous years’ data for many of the substances above as well as data for Dissolved Oxygen and Total Dissolved Solids.
View a PDF of the 2025 water quality test results.
Presentations
(Jump to: Water Quality Overview | Water Quality Monitoring | Testing Methodology | Test Results | Historical Reports)
2023 Water Quality Testing of Lake Quannapowitt
Presentation of the Water Quality Testing Committee to the FOLQ Board
David Miller presenting, 11-7-23
Water Quality Testing for Lake Quannapowitt 1988 – 2023
Presentation of the Water Quality Committee to the FOLQ Board
Lee Danielson presenting, 11-7-23
Historical Reports
(Jump to: Water Quality Overview | Water Quality Monitoring | Testing Methodology | Test Results| Presentations)