B Lake Whatcom Data

The 2001/2002 Lake Whatcom water quality data, including data from special sampling projects, are included on the following pages. The historic detection limits and abbreviations for each parameter are listed in Table 38. The historic detection limits for each parameter were estimated based on recommended lower detection ranges (APHA, 1998; Ebina, et al., 1983; Hydrolab, 1997; Lind, 1985) instrument limitations, and analyst judgement on the lowest repeatable concentration for each test. Over time, some analytical techniques have improved so that current detection limits are lower than deﬁned below (see, for example, current detection limits in Table 2, page §). Because the Lake Whatcom data set includes long-term monitoring data, which have been collected using a variety of analytical techniques, this report sets very conservative historic detection limits in order to allow comparisons between all years.

In the Lake Whatcom report, unless indicated, no data substitutions are used. Instead, we ﬂag all data that fall below the historic detection limits listed in Table 38.


		Historic Det. Limits (dl)			Historic Det. Limits (dl)
Abbrev.	Analysis	or Sensitivity (±)	Abbrev.	Analysis	or Sensitivity (±)

alk	Alkalinity	± 0.5 mg/L	As	arsenic, total	dl = 0.03/0.01/0.001 mg/L
toc	Carbon, total organic	dl = 1.0 mg/L	Cd	cadmium, total	dl = 0.002/0.0005 mg/L
chl	Chlorophyll a	± 0.1 mg/m³	Cr	chromium, total	dl = 0.006/0.001 mg/L
fc	Coliforms, fecal	dl ≤ 2 col/100 mL	Cu	copper, total	dl = 0.002/0.001 mg/L
tc	Coliforms, total	dl ≤ 2 col/100 mL	Fe	iron, total	dl = 0.01/0.005 mg/L
cond	Conductivity, Hydrolab	± 2 μS/cm	Pb	lead, total	dl = 0.001 mg/L
cond	Conductivity, lab	± 2 μS/cm	Hg	mercury, total	dl = 0.01 mg/L
ec	Enterococcus	dl ≤ 2 col/100 mL	Hg	mercury, total
nh3	Nitrogen, ammonia	dl = 10 μg-N/L	Hg	mercury, total, low
no3	Nitrogen, nitrate/nitrite	dl = 20 μg-N/L		AmTest	dl = 0.0002 mg/L
tn	Nitrogen, total nitrogen	dl = 100 μg-N/L		Env. Canada	dl = 0.00005 mg/L
do	Oxygen, Hydrolab	± 0.1 mg/L		Frontier	dl = 0.00000015 mg/L
do	Oxygen, Winkler	± 0.1 mg/L	Hg	mercury, methyl, low
pH	pH, Hydrolab	± 0.1 pH unit		Frontier	dl = 0.00000002 mg/L
pH	pH, lab	± 0.1 pH unit	Ni	nickel, total	dl = 0.01/0.005 mg/L
srp	Phosphate, soluble reactive	dl = 5 μg-P/L	Zn	zinc, total	dl = 0.002/0.001 mg/L
tp	Phosphorus, total	dl = 5 μg-P/L
secchi	Secchi depth	± 0.1 m
temp	Temperature	± 0.1^∘ C
tss	Total suspended solids	dl = 2 mg/L
turb	Turbidity	± 0.2 NTU

Historic detection limits listed in this table are conservative estimates designed to permit comparisons with historic data.
The AmTest detection limits for metals decreased in 1999 and 2002 (arsenic only); the older detection limits are listed ﬁrst in this table.
Table 2 lists the current IWS detection limits for selected analyses; Appendix B.7 includes the the current AmTest reports and detection limits.

Table 38:

Summary of analyses in the Lake Whatcom monitoring project.