NIEA placed a monitoring buoy onto Loughinisland Lake for a period of one week 25/08/15 - 01/09/15 in order to monitor the dissolved oxygen levels and temperature of the water. Data was collected every 10 minutes until the buoy was retrieved.
The buoy data revealed very stable patterns in lake dissolved oxygen as well as temperature levels with slight nocturnal decreases which is very normal. The effects of wind dramatically decreased the dissolved oxygen levels but quickly returned to its settled state once the wind subsided.
NIEA tested the water quality on 25/08/15 when they noticed an algal bloom on the lake. This was confirmed as a blue-green bloom which tend to occur in phosphorus rich environments and are present from early summer to late autumn.
The main problem from the lake is most likely nutrient enrichment from the surrounding agricultural (diffuse) and point sources (WwTW).
