PlaceDossier / BC places / Lakes

BC lake · 2 km² · Narcosli Creek watershed

Puntchesakut Lake

Too few readings to judge this lake: 25 summer readings from open water between 1997 and 2026, 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

25 summer readings from open water on record from 1997 to 2026, at 2 sampling sites.

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
6 readings since 2012
Too few readings to compare (6 readings since 2012).
Chlorophyll aToo few readings to judge
5 readings since 2012
Too few readings to compare (5 readings since 2012).
Secchi depth how deep a black-and-white disc stays visible: deeper means clearer water
0246 200020102020 2023: median 2.3 m from 2 readings2024: median 3.7 m from 1 reading2025: median 2.7 m from 1 readingm
Total phosphorus the nutrient that most often feeds algae in BC lakes
1030 200020102020 1997: median 32 µg/L from 2 readings2005: median 24 µg/L from 6 readings2006: median 13 µg/L from 2 readings2023: median 22 µg/L from 2 readings2024: median 13 µg/L from 1 reading2025: median 9.8 µg/L from 1 reading2026: median 26 µg/L from 2 readingsµg/L
Chlorophyll a the green pigment in algae: a direct measure of how much is growing
1310 200020102020 2023: median 8.7 µg/L from 2 readings2024: median 1.8 µg/L from 1 reading2025: median 3.6 µg/L from 1 reading2026: median 4.1 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 (6 readings since 2012); chlorophyll a (5 readings since 2012).

Year by year

YearSecchi depthTotal phosphorusChlorophyll a
2026–26 µg/L (2)4.1 µg/L (1)
20252.7 m (1)9.8 µg/L (1)3.6 µg/L (1)
20243.7 m (1)13 µg/L (1)1.8 µg/L (1)
20232.3 m (2)22 µg/L (2)8.7 µg/L (2)
2006–13 µg/L (2)–
2005–24 µg/L (6)–
1997–32 µg/L (2)–

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

  • E226455 Deepest point 21 readings
  • E226454 South end 4 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.