ORC to provide funds for water quality study
OTAGO Regional Council is stumping up almost $10,000 to help residents look at water quality in Lake Wanaka.
The funding will enable the local swimming group to examine patterns of lake snow around Ruby Island, which is a popular swimming route.
‘‘Earlier this year, we trialled some simple sampling methods to help our understanding of the prevalence of lake snow while swimming around Ruby Island,’’ project mentor Chris Arbuckle said.
Eddie Spearing of the Ruby Island Swim said this was the second citizen science project that lake community group Touchstone had gained funding for this summer.
‘‘Both projects are aimed at complementing our understanding of stuff directly affecting the values we hold for Lake Wanaka. Swimmers end up covered in lake snow sometimes, and it’s gross. After long swims we even see skin irritations, so this is all about figuring if we can change stuff we do to keep our swim experience fun.’’
The funding will be used for water quality sampling, ecological surveys and an information site, and will also include baby wipes that the Wanaka Lake Swimmers will use to swab their faces after a 2.5km swim around Ruby Island to sample lake snow.
The sixmonth project will focus on four sites around Ruby Island, with the goal of tracking issues and finding patterns with lake snow and describing the creatures in the water around the island. It will also look at water colour, clarity and other measures, like the amount of algae present.
This project is cognisant of other science work on lake snow being carried out by the University of Otago and Landcare Research.