State of the Lake Report shows consistent water quality
Lindsey Mills and her dog Koda on Flathead Lake in 2023. (Avery Howe photo)
Since 1977, the Flathead Monitoring Program at the Flathead Lake Biological Station has used standardized scientific methods to collect fundamental physical, chemical, and biological data on Flathead Lake and its main inflows. To assess water quality, FLBS scientists can assess water quality by analyzing key monitoring variables.
These variables include water clarity, abundance of planktonic algae, oxygen levels in the lake’s bottom waters, and the supply of key nutrients, especially phosphorus (P), that can drive increases in algae that degrade water clarity and deplete deep water oxygen.
The FLBS Flathead Monitoring Program conducts year-round sampling at a fixed sampling site called Midlake Deep, which is the lake’s deepest point and is located near the Bio Station.
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