Lake James Volunteer Water Information Network
Volunteer lake and stream sampling program

Why We Sample

UNC-Asheville VWIN

Water quality data is fundamental to understanding the conditions in our lake and its watershed. Chemical and physical information about the water in our lake and streams is essential for maintaining and improving water quality. To be useful, this information must be gathered over a long period of time and in a very consistent manner. It was this basic need that led to the formation of what we now know as the Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN). This network is a partnership of groups and individuals dedicated to preserving water quality in western North Carolina. The UNC-Asheville Environmental Quality Institute (EQI) provides technical assistance through laboratory analysis of water samples, statistical analysis of results, and written interpretation of data.

Lake James VWIN

Area watershed managers make critical land and water use decisions based on their understanding of the condition and trends of the lake it's and feeder streams. Timely, authoritative and representative information is crucial to supporting those decisions. (View our monthly sampling data.)

North Carolina sampled Lake James twice in the past 12 years (1992 & 1997). The last sampling year, 1997, was the last of several wet years in Western North Carolina that were followed by four dry years with sharply reduced stream inflows. (Asheville, NC ran low on fresh water in 1998 and had to impose water use restrictions.)

In March 2001, the NC Department of Water Quality advised the EPA of "significant errors" in North Carolina's chlorophyll data reports dating back to 1996 and requested those results be removed from the EPA dataset until they are corrected.(1)

The purpose of the Lake James VWIN is to account for cyclic climate shifts, fill in the data gaps and provide both reliable and current water quality information for environmentalists and watershed managers alike.

New for the 2002 lake sampling year is the addition of Fecal Coliform testing. In this case we are monitoring for indications of an influx of human waste mater from sewage spills or failing septic tanks.

Where We Sample

Samples are taken on the 4th Saturday of each month between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the six NC DENR sites shown in Figure 1 from May through September. Over the past 20 years, DENR has collected and analyzed 49 samples from these sites. We will collect and analyze 60 site samples in the first two years of our VWIN operation.

Our goal is to expand the monthly testing in the Linville River side from three sites to five and be in position to conduct random sampling and spot checks of suspect areas and to document problem water reports including reports of harmful algal blooms.

Test locations as arranged by DENR identification code are:

Figure 1, Lake James Sampling Sites

Fecal Coliform Locations

Fecal Coliform samples are taken monthly on the Monday morning following the normal lake sampling, placed on ice and transported immediately to the EQI for analysis. In the event of a reading exceeding 200 colonies per 100 milliliter we will sample 4 additional times at that location within 30 days to rule out spurious readings and confirm a Fecal Coliform problem. The three test sites are all in the Catawba River side of the lake adjacent to the waterfront subdivisions at Plantation Point, Waterglyn, and the Marion Lake Club peninsula.

Tributary Stream Locations

Stream water samples are taken year round on the 4th Saturday of each month between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at road bridges located upstream from the lake on each of the significant tributaries. Sites are numbered by bridge sequence, i.e. CR5 is the fifth bridge on the Catawba River upstream from Lake James.

As stream sampling data become available we can then make educated decisions to extend testing farther up individual streams that reflect nutrient or sediment loading problems.

Our goal for the future is to sample at the terminus of each significant stream that feeds into the Catawba, North Fork of the Catawba, and Linville Rivers and then to bracket known problem sites such as wastewater treatment plants, flow-through fish farms and fish hatcheries.

What We Sample For

Lake James Sampling Elements

The lake samples are taken by VWIN volunteers and analyzed by a combination if in situ testing with a Secchi Disk and a Hydrolab Quanta meter and by laboratory analysis at the UNC-A Environmental Quality Institute (EQI). The elements analyzed include:

Our goal for the future is to expand water sample analysis to include total nitrogen, total organic nitrogen, and chlorophyll-a. We will then be in position to calculate and directly compare our results with historical data using both the four element North Carolina Trophic State Index (NCTSI) used by DENR and the three element tropic state index recommended by the US EPA for use by volunteer water monitoring groups.

Fecal Coliform sampling detects the presents of bacteria commonly found in human and animal digestive tracts and is commonly use as an indicator of the presence of raw sewage. The state threshold is 200 colonies per milliliter

Stream Sampling Elements

All stream samples are collected and transported by VWIN volunteers to UNC-A for analysis in the EQI lab. The water samples are analyzed for the following parameters: pH, alkalinity, turbidity, total suspended solids, conductivity, copper, lead, zinc, orthophosphate, ammonia nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen. At the end of each monitoring year, EQI prepares a cumulative analysis and summary of the water quality conditions at each of the sample or monitoring sites. This information gives a snap shot of existing conditions, as well as changes over time.

To learn more about this important work or volunteer to help, please contact Art Bonham.

Citation:
1. March 30, 2001 letter from Coleen H. Sullins, Chief, DENR Water Quality Section to Robert E. Cantilli, EPA Nutrient Program Coordinator, subject: Comments on Ecoregion Nutrient Criteria Documents Ambient Water Quality Criteria Recommendations

UNC-A VWIN | VWIN Parameters | County Usage | VWIN Training
UNC-A VWIN content provided by the Environmental Quality Institute of the University of North Carolina-Asheville.
For questions or information requests on the UNC-A VWIN, contact Marilyn Westphal at 828/251-6823.

View the Lake James VWIN test data