Water Quality Monitoring 2025 Results
- Okanogan CD
- Sep 15
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 16
Palmer Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program
As a part of the Palmer Lake Watershed Project, the Okanogan Conservation District initiated a water quality monitoring program in the summer of 2025 to begin collecting samples and testing the lake's water quality.
Program Efforts
Steps to this program included stakeholder outreach and a community meeting to gather insights and feedback on water quality concerns, the development and approval of a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP), acquirement of monitoring equipment, conducting water quality sampling, and data collection from May 2025 - October 2025.
Three sites were evaluated in the Palmer Lake Watershed to evaluate both Palmer Lake and the input/output channels of Palmer Lake. The data was collected using a YSI Multiparameter Sonde in conjunction with a Van Dorn to assess pH, Conductivity, Temperature, and Dissolved Oxygen. Lab samples were collected to assess nutrients, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), and total suspended solids (TSS). A Secchi disk was used to determine water turbidity and clarity. Flow and volume of river flows were also estimated.
Samples collected in this monitoring season were submitted to an accredited laboratory to be analyzed and determine if algae blooms were present and producing toxins above state thresholds that would be potentially harmful to human or animal health. If tested algae samples produced toxins above the state threshold, the Okanogan Conservation District would then notify key partners at the local and state level.
The district's role in this project was to collect water quality data and transfer knowledge of what we have learned to others by providing outreach, education, and direct technical assistance on a voluntary basis to inform residents what they can do to protect and improve water quality and cost-share funding assistance for eligible projects.
To learn more about the Palmer Lake Watershed Project, harmful algae blooms, water quality resources, or Okanogan CD's voluntary water quality programs, please read the featured blog post below and visit the Water Quality webpage.
2025 Monitoring Results
Preliminary results show the following:
Temperature starts declining around 5m/16ft
Conductivity starts increasing around 10m/32ft
Dissolved oxygen declines around 15m/49ft
May 2025 - October 2025
Samples are still being collected and analyzed.
You may expect results to be posted here by December of 2025. Stay tuned!
The Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP)
The QAPP helps identify water quality conditions and contains history of the area, existing data on water quality monitoring parameters, regulatory criteria, goals and objectives, organization and scheduling for monitoring, sampling and measurement procedures, quality control procedures, sampling process design, field procedures, laboratory procedures, data management procedures, audits and reports and other critical information to direct monitoring efforts.
Learn more about the Palmer Lake QAPP attached here:
This project is funded by the Washington State Department of Ecology.
For more details or questions regarding this project, additional water quality resources, and project updates, please contact Okanogan CD's project manager, Chevelle Yeckel:
509-429-5237
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