PlaceDossier / BC places / Lakes

BC lake · 18 km² · Lower Beatton River watershed

Charlie Lake

Its median summer Secchi depth over 2017–2026 was 1.9 m, from 22 readings. Murkier than 91% of the 122 BC lakes with at least 5 readings.

The readings

963 summer readings on record from 1974 to 2026, at 10 sampling sites.

Median, latest 10 sampled yearsCompared with BC lakes
Secchi depth1.9 m
2017–2026, 22 readings		Murkier than 91% of the 122 BC lakes with at least 5 readings.
Total phosphorus50 µg/L
2017–2026, 65 readings		Higher than 89% of the 269 BC lakes with at least 5 readings.
Chlorophyll a15 µg/L
2017–2026, 50 readings		Higher than 94% of the 156 BC lakes with at least 5 readings.
Secchi depth how deep a black-and-white disc stays visible: deeper means clearer water
0246 19801990200020102020 1974: median 1.6 m from 22 readings1984: median 2.1 m from 1 reading1985: median 2.5 m from 1 reading1986: median 2.0 m from 1 reading1988: median 2.1 m from 11 readings1989: median 1.6 m from 7 readings1990: median 1.5 m from 31 readings1991: median 1.5 m from 30 readings1992: median 1.7 m from 20 readings1993: median 1.8 m from 9 readings1994: median 2.2 m from 7 readings2016: median 1.9 m from 2 readings2017: median 1.7 m from 4 readings2018: median 1.5 m from 4 readings2019: median 1.7 m from 2 readings2020: median 3.0 m from 1 reading2021: median 2.2 m from 2 readings2022: median 0.8 m from 2 readings2023: median 3.7 m from 2 readings2024: median 3.6 m from 2 readings2025: median 1.9 m from 2 readings2026: median 1.2 m from 1 readingm
Total phosphorus the nutrient that most often feeds algae in BC lakes
1030100 19801990200020102020 1974: median 83 µg/L from 67 readings1975: median 107 µg/L from 52 readings1984: median 88 µg/L from 9 readings1985: median 35 µg/L from 4 readings1986: median 40 µg/L from 4 readings1987: median 23 µg/L from 3 readings1988: median 69 µg/L from 18 readings1989: median 57 µg/L from 48 readings1990: median 72 µg/L from 91 readings1991: median 71 µg/L from 67 readings1992: median 46 µg/L from 29 readings1993: median 74 µg/L from 18 readings1994: median 79 µg/L from 15 readings1997: median 154 µg/L from 2 readings1998: median 91 µg/L from 6 readings2003: median 76 µg/L from 22 readings2004: median 58 µg/L from 35 readings2005: median 74 µg/L from 14 readings2015: median 35 µg/L from 2 readings2016: median 33 µg/L from 30 readings2017: median 57 µg/L from 20 readings2018: median 50 µg/L from 29 readings2019: median 36 µg/L from 2 readings2020: median 96 µg/L from 1 reading2021: median 25 µg/L from 3 readings2022: median 62 µg/L from 2 readings2023: median 33 µg/L from 2 readings2024: median 53 µg/L from 2 readings2025: median 60 µg/L from 2 readings2026: median 47 µg/L from 2 readingsµg/L
Chlorophyll a the green pigment in algae: a direct measure of how much is growing
131030 19801990200020102020 1974: median 17 µg/L from 88 readings1975: median 12 µg/L from 31 readings1984: median 11 µg/L from 4 readings1989: median 7.9 µg/L from 2 readings1990: median 35 µg/L from 2 readings2015: median 7.8 µg/L from 2 readings2016: median 17 µg/L from 19 readings2017: median 13 µg/L from 14 readings2018: median 26 µg/L from 19 readings2019: median 11 µg/L from 2 readings2020: median 2.6 µg/L from 1 reading2021: median 4.6 µg/L from 4 readings2022: median 67 µg/L from 2 readings2023: median 6.6 µg/L from 2 readings2024: median 5.9 µg/L from 2 readings2025: median 16 µg/L from 2 readings2026: median 39 µg/L from 2 readingsµg/L

Median each year (bigger dot, more readings)Middle half of BC lakesBC median

Source: BC Environmental Monitoring Data System (EnMoDS) results, Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Branch, Province of BC, records to September 19, 2026 (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); lake outlines and names: Freshwater Atlas lakes, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia). Summaries by PlaceDossier.

Nutrient level Inferred

Reads as eutrophic (rich in nutrients, with more algae and weed growth).

IndexClass
From secchi depth (1.9 m, 2017–2026)51eutrophic
From total phosphorus (50 µg/L, 2017–2026)60eutrophic
From chlorophyll a (15 µg/L, 2017–2026)57eutrophic

Inferred by us, not a provincial classification. Carlson's trophic state index (Carlson 1977, Limnology and Oceanography 22:361) turns each median into a score: 60 − 14.41 ln(Secchi m), 14.42 ln(phosphorus µg/L) + 4.15, 9.81 ln(chlorophyll µg/L) + 30.6. Classes after Carlson and Simpson (1996): under 40 oligotrophic, 40 to 50 mesotrophic, 50 to 70 eutrophic, 70 and over hypereutrophic. The index was built for summer readings from the middle of a lake; ours mix sites and months, so treat the class as a rough guide.

Year by year

YearSecchi depthTotal phosphorusChlorophyll a
20261.2 m (1)47 µg/L (2)39 µg/L (2)
20251.9 m (2)60 µg/L (2)16 µg/L (2)
20243.6 m (2)53 µg/L (2)5.9 µg/L (2)
20233.7 m (2)33 µg/L (2)6.6 µg/L (2)
20220.8 m (2)62 µg/L (2)67 µg/L (2)
20212.2 m (2)25 µg/L (3)4.6 µg/L (4)
20203.0 m (1)96 µg/L (1)2.6 µg/L (1)
20191.7 m (2)36 µg/L (2)11 µg/L (2)
20181.5 m (4)50 µg/L (29)26 µg/L (19)
20171.7 m (4)57 µg/L (20)13 µg/L (14)
20161.9 m (2)33 µg/L (30)17 µg/L (19)
2015–35 µg/L (2)7.8 µg/L (2)
2005–74 µg/L (14)–
2004–58 µg/L (35)–
2003–76 µg/L (22)–
1998–91 µg/L (6)–
1997–154 µg/L (2)–
19942.2 m (7)79 µg/L (15)–
19931.8 m (9)74 µg/L (18)–
19921.7 m (20)46 µg/L (29)–
19911.5 m (30)71 µg/L (67)–
19901.5 m (31)72 µg/L (91)35 µg/L (2)
19891.6 m (7)57 µg/L (48)7.9 µg/L (2)
19882.1 m (11)69 µg/L (18)–
1987–23 µg/L (3)–
19862.0 m (1)40 µg/L (4)–
19852.5 m (1)35 µg/L (4)–
19842.1 m (1)88 µg/L (9)11 µg/L (4)
1975–107 µg/L (52)12 µg/L (31)
19741.6 m (22)83 µg/L (67)17 µg/L (88)

Median of each year's May to October readings; the number of readings is in brackets.

Source: BC Environmental Monitoring Data System (EnMoDS) results, Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Branch, Province of BC, records to September 19, 2026 (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); lake outlines and names: Freshwater Atlas lakes, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia). Summaries by PlaceDossier.

Where it was sampled

  • 0400390 CHARLIE L DEEP STATION 1.2 KM EAST OF PARK 363 readings
  • E207459 CHARLIE LAKE NORTH ARM DEEP STATION. 255 readings
  • 0400395 CHARLIE L NORTH ARM 0.8 KM FROM INLET 108 readings
  • 0400391 CHARLIE L CENTER OFF GOLF COURSE 102 readings
  • 0400388 CHARLIE L SOUTH ARM 1.5 KM N STODDART C 92 readings
  • 0400392 CHARLIE L BAY MOUTH N OF BEATTON PARK 45 readings
  • 0400393 CHARLIE L NORTH ARM N OF GOLF COURSE 40 readings
  • 0400394 CHARLIE L CENTER WEST SHORE 36 readings
  • 0400389 CHARLIE L SOUTH ARM 500 M EAST OF PARK 33 readings
  • E227136 CHARLIE LAKE LITTORAL SITE 1 reading

Site names and IDs are as recorded in the provincial database; the IDs find each site's full record there.

What this record doesn't cover

Algae bloom reports and invasive mussel checks aren't in this record: the province's Algae Watch map and mussel monitoring aren't published as open data. For swimming, check the regional health authority's beach advisories; for blooms and mussels, ask the province's regional environment office or the local lake association.

Readings are from the province's monitoring database: samples taken by provincial staff, volunteer lake monitors, and companies and local governments that sample under their permits. We keep the ice-free season (May to October), and for phosphorus and chlorophyll only samples from the top 5 m. Each year's figure is the median of that year's readings; the summary is the median of every reading in the lake's latest 10 sampled years. A reading below the lab's detection limit counts at that limit. One site can be a bay rather than the open lake, so a lake's figures can differ from one end to the other.

Water quality changes with the season, the weather and the part of the lake. These are past readings, not a test of the water today: before you buy, ask the local government and the lake association what's known, and test a drinking-water intake yourself.