This chapter reports the data collected on the inlets and outlets to Pelican Lake. Streams and rivers are rated by the MPCA to have the most potential to impact lakes. After all, a lake can only be as healthy as the water that flows into it.

Fig 8.0 Sample Sites

Pelican Lake has 4 impacting streams. All of which are tested in several places. By breaking up the sampling per stream we can better locate pollution sources. For example; points A, B, and C are sampled for pollutant X. A is upstream from B, and B is upstream from C. Pollutant X is found at C but not B or A. This means that the pollutant source must be in-between B and C. Say that pollutant X is found at B but not C. This means that (usually naturally) the pollutant is being "filtered" between B and C. Perhaps the most important sites are at where they enter the lake body. The rivers and streams that exit the lake are also sampled. This is for comparison purposes. For example the totals of a substance entering the lake can be found and compared with the totals exiting the lake. This is another way to distinguish if other pollutants are entering the lake by other means than streams.

PGOLID monitors 10 sites in 4 watersheds. The sites are coded below and refer to the map above:

Sites

1. Highway 20 Culvert, Pelican River
2. Strom's Bridge, Pelican River
3. Pelican River Outlet
4. Bob Creek Inlet
5. Burton Lake Outlet
6. Spring Creek Inlet
7. 15823 Sherbrooke Road , Spring Creek
8. Lake Ida Outlet
9. Cormorant Lake Outlet

Samples are collected monthly year around. PGOLID also periodically takes samples after "storm events" or after heavy precipitation. Sampling after a storm event can give us a relation as to how the watersheds runoff is impacting the water. Storm event samples are included with other samples in statistics. This evens out to more accurately represent a true average. This makes up for the other storm events that are not monitored, or recorded in the monthly samples.