Increased pressure from recreational boating and fishing, cottage development, forestry operations and other activities in the Gaspereau-Black River Lake watershed has raised concerns as to the impact these activities may be having on water quality within the numerous lakes and streams within this system. To address these concerns, during the fall of 1995 the Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research, at the request of the Kings County Wildlife Association, carried out a preliminary survey of water quality at a number of sites within this watershed. The results of the survey indicated that water quality did not appear to be noticeably degraded as a result of the present levels of development and activity within the watershed. However, there was some concern as to the appropriateness of the time during which the survey was carried out, which was early October, a time when the lakes would have undergone destratification if they do stratify, and were likely to have been recently flushed as a result of fall rains and water drawdown associated with power generation. Because these factors may have made the time of the survey somewhat inappropriate for detection of any water quality problems that may exist, it was recommended that the survey be repeated during late summer when any existing stratification would be at its maximum and a more complete evaluation of water quality would be possible. This recommendation was accepted and a follow-up survey was carried out on 12 and 13 August 1997. This report presents the results of this survey.

The Gaspereau-Black River Lake watershed includes 12 major lakes and headponds and many smaller lakes and streams. The surveys concentrated on the eastern portion of the watershed which includes Gaspereau Lake, Salmontail Lake, Dean Chapter Lake, Murphy Lake, Little River Lake, Methals Lake and Black River Lake. The western portion of the watershed, which includes Lake George, Aylesford Lake, Loon Lake and Hardwood Lake, is currently being evaluated for water quality by the Municipality of Kings County. The primary objective of the surveys was to obtain preliminary baseline data useful in determining if present levels of activity within the watershed are having significant impacts on water quality.