Tracking Lake Weather Conditions for Cyanotoxin Monitoring

A Pulsar 700 Weather Station on the roof of a treatment facility building.
A Pulsar 700 Weather Station on the roof of a treatment facility building.

Heavy summer rains combined with warm, sunny days create ideal conditions for cyanobacteria blooms on Lake Waukewan, the primary drinking water source for thousands of Meredith, NH residents.

These blooms can release harmful cyanotoxins, posing risks to public health and making a strong monitoring and response strategy essential for decision makers.

To address this challenge, the Town of Meredith partnered with FB Environmental to develop a thorough Cyanobacteria Monitoring and Response Plan.

A key component of the plan was securing a reliable weather station to monitor blooms following certain weather events.

FB Environmental installed a Pulsar 700 Weather Station on the roof of a treatment facility building and documented its application in the official response plan:

Year-round deployment and maintenance of the weather station at the Meredith Water Treatment Facility. Remote data checks will be conducted weekly by MWD to ensure proper functioning of the weather station. Alarms may be set to alert MWD to parameters surpassing thresholds determined as high risk for cyanobacteria blooms... 

3.2.4.2 Weather and Water Temperature Blooms are anticipated to occur within the weeks after a heavy rain event followed by or preceding hot, sunny conditions or a period of several warm, calm days during peak thermal stratification or around fall turnover at the end of the season.

Map of Lake Waukewan

By integrating accurate, real-time weather data into its monitoring plan, the Town of Meredith can better anticipate when cyanobacteria blooms are most likely to occur.

This improves the town’s ability to protect its drinking water supply through earlier detection, more precise response actions, and stronger safeguards for public health.

Read the full application story here

📸 Photos courtesy of FB Environmental

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