PlaceDossier / BC places / Lakes

BC lake · 53.9 ha · Clearwater River watershed

Dutch Lake

Too few readings to judge this lake: 28 summer readings from open water between 1991 and 2017, and we need at least 10 summer readings from open water, spread over at least 3 different years, since 2012 before we summarise or compare it. The readings are below.

The readings

28 summer readings from open water on record from 1991 to 2017, at 1 sampling site.

Median since 2012Compared with BC lakes
Secchi depthToo few readings to judge
4 readings since 2012
Too few readings to compare (4 readings since 2012).
Total phosphorusToo few readings to judge
5 readings since 2012
Too few readings to compare (5 readings since 2012).
Chlorophyll aToo few readings to judge
3 readings since 2012, in 2 years
Too few readings to compare (3 readings since 2012, in 2 years).
Secchi depth how deep a black-and-white disc stays visible: deeper means clearer water
0510 20002010 2009: median 8.6 m from 1 reading2010: median 3.5 m from 1 reading2015: median 6.4 m from 1 reading2016: median 9.6 m from 2 readings2017: median 8.0 m from 1 readingm
Total phosphorus the nutrient that most often feeds algae in BC lakes
31030 20002010 1991: median 6.0 µg/L from 1 reading1994: median 7.0 µg/L from 1 reading1997: median 52 µg/L from 2 readings2000: median 6.0 µg/L from 1 reading2001: median 53 µg/L from 2 readings2008: median 7.0 µg/L from 2 readings2009: median 11 µg/L from 2 readings2015: median 5.1 µg/L from 2 readings2016: median 2.8 µg/L from 2 readings2017: median 2.2 µg/L from 1 readingµg/L
Chlorophyll a the green pigment in algae: a direct measure of how much is growing
13 20002010 2008: median 2.0 µg/L from 1 reading2009: median 7.7 µg/L from 1 reading2010: median 3.6 µg/L from 1 reading2016: median 1.2 µg/L from 2 readings2017: median 1.0 µg/L from 1 readingµg/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

Unclear: too few readings to judge this lake's nutrient level.

Left out for too few recent readings (we need at least 10 summer readings from open water, spread over at least 3 different years, since 2012): secchi depth (4 readings since 2012); total phosphorus (5 readings since 2012); chlorophyll a (3 readings since 2012, in 2 years).

Year by year

YearSecchi depthTotal phosphorusChlorophyll a
20178.0 m (1)2.2 µg/L (1)1.0 µg/L (1)
20169.6 m (2)2.8 µg/L (2)1.2 µg/L (2)
20156.4 m (1)5.1 µg/L (2)–
20103.5 m (1)–3.6 µg/L (1)
20098.6 m (1)11 µg/L (2)7.7 µg/L (1)
2008–7.0 µg/L (2)2.0 µg/L (1)
2001–53 µg/L (2)–
2000–6.0 µg/L (1)–
1997–52 µg/L (2)–
1994–7.0 µg/L (1)–
1991–6.0 µg/L (1)–

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

  • 0603102 Off Island 28 readings

Site names are tidied from the provincial records; 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. We leave out sites whose names put them at a water intake, a sewage or industrial outfall, a mine or a permit holder's works, or on the shore (a beach, dock or boat launch): water there can differ a lot from the open lake. Each year's figure is the median of that year's readings. We give a lake a summary, a comparison with other lakes and a nutrient level only when it has at least 10 summer readings from open water, spread over at least 3 different years, since 2012; the summary is the median of those readings. With fewer, or only older ones, we show the readings and say there are too few to judge the lake. 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.