PlaceDossier / BC places / Lakes

BC lake · 50 km² · Thompson River watershed

Kamloops Lake

Too few readings to judge this lake: 109 summer readings from open water between 1991 and 2016, 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

109 summer readings from open water on record from 1991 to 2016, at 4 sampling sites.

Median since 2012Compared with BC lakes
Secchi depthToo few readings to judge
3 readings since 2012, in 2 years
Too few readings to compare (3 readings since 2012, in 2 years).
Total phosphorusToo few readings to judge
4 readings since 2012, in 2 years
Too few readings to compare (4 readings since 2012, in 2 years).
Chlorophyll aToo few readings to judge
4 readings since 2012, in 2 years
Too few readings to compare (4 readings since 2012, in 2 years).
Secchi depth how deep a black-and-white disc stays visible: deeper means clearer water
0246 20002010 2015: median 6.2 m from 1 reading2016: median 6.8 m from 2 readingsm
Total phosphorus the nutrient that most often feeds algae in BC lakes
31030 20002010 1991: median 4.0 µg/L from 1 reading1993: median 6.0 µg/L from 1 reading1994: median 3.0 µg/L from 1 reading1995: median 3.0 µg/L from 1 reading1997: median 55 µg/L from 2 readings2001: median 6.0 µg/L from 3 readings2002: median 2.0 µg/L from 1 reading2003: median 8.0 µg/L from 5 readings2004: median 4.5 µg/L from 12 readings2005: median 5.0 µg/L from 14 readings2006: median 5.0 µg/L from 9 readings2007: median 6.0 µg/L from 9 readings2008: median 7.0 µg/L from 15 readings2009: median 4.5 µg/L from 12 readings2015: median 3.7 µg/L from 2 readings2016: median 4.8 µg/L from 2 readingsµg/L
Chlorophyll a the green pigment in algae: a direct measure of how much is growing
13 20002010 2008: median 2.5 µg/L from 3 readings2009: median 2.1 µg/L from 9 readings2015: median 1.7 µg/L from 2 readings2016: median 1.0 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

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 (3 readings since 2012, in 2 years); total phosphorus (4 readings since 2012, in 2 years); chlorophyll a (4 readings since 2012, in 2 years).

Year by year

YearSecchi depthTotal phosphorusChlorophyll a
20166.8 m (2)4.8 µg/L (2)1.0 µg/L (2)
20156.2 m (1)3.7 µg/L (2)1.7 µg/L (2)
2009–4.5 µg/L (12)2.1 µg/L (9)
2008–7.0 µg/L (15)2.5 µg/L (3)
2007–6.0 µg/L (9)–
2006–5.0 µg/L (9)–
2005–5.0 µg/L (14)–
2004–4.5 µg/L (12)–
2003–8.0 µg/L (5)–
2002–2.0 µg/L (1)–
2001–6.0 µg/L (3)–
1997–55 µg/L (2)–
1995–3.0 µg/L (1)–
1994–3.0 µg/L (1)–
1993–6.0 µg/L (1)–
1991–4.0 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

  • E216130 Off Savona 40 readings
  • E253149 Off Fredericks 39 readings
  • E213111 At Cooney bay 26 readings
  • E253150 At Frederick 4 readings

Left out: 4 readings at 1 site whose names put them away from the open lake

  • E253151 At 6 Mile Ranch Marina 4 readings; on the shore

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.