Volunteer lake monitors are an invaluable asset to the Lake Stewardship Program- their efforts result in vast amounts of data for King County Lakes that otherwise wouldn’t be collected.  We are always looking for new volunteers to serve as monitors and back-up monitors.  If you are interested, please contact us!  Contact information can be found at the bottom of the page.  

View your lake's water quality data on the small lakes data and info page.

And for lakes with continuous data loggers you can access lake level and water temperature data on the Hydrologic Information Center.

For our volunteers - sign up to receive text or email reminders on sampling days here. 

Volunteer trainings

Presentation from the 2021 Lake Stewardship training workshop: 

• 2021 Pre-Season Workshop topics include:
  • Program overview and reminders
  • King County Pollution Identification and Correction Program
  • Identifying Noxious Weeds
  • Webpage navigation
  • Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)

Presentations from the 2018 Lake Stewardship training workshop:

• Introduction to the Lake Stewardship Program 
• 2017 Data Review
• Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) 

Lake Stewardship Volunteer Guide

The Lake Stewardship Volunteer Guide describes the program and monitoring procedures in detail.  If you are a volunteer monitor, please review this guide carefully before you begin monitoring and refer back to it as often as necessary.

• Lake Stewardship Volunteer Guide 
• Equipment Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
• Glossary of Terms

Videos

Lake Data and Resources

• Small lake data and info. Search, view, and download water quality data resulting from volunteer monitoring efforts at more than 50 lakes in King County.

• Hydrologic Information Center. The hydrologic Information Center provides public access to rainfall, streamflow and other hydrologic data collected at King County gage sites. For lakes with continuous data loggers installed, you can access lake level and water temperature data on the HIC. 

• Northwest Toxic Algae Monitoring Program. View current and past toxin data, report a bloom, and learn about toxic algae. 

• Lake Swimming Beach data. View current lake swimming beach closures due to high bacteria. 

• WDFW Fish Stocking. Where and how many trout WDFW plans to stock in lakes and streams around the state. 

• Lake Weed Watchers. King County volunteer monitoring program. Volunteer to monitor for aquatic weeds in your lake. 

King County lake monitoring reports

An annual report of King County lake data collected by volunteer monitors, including a section on climate and hydrology, nutrients, trophic state index and land use, and a presentation of water quality by individual lake. From 2005 onward, the reports discuss trends and conditions at all monitored lakes. Individual lake data can be viewed and downloaded online on the Lakes Descriptions and Data page.

• Introduction: What and Why We Monitor (Acrobat PDF, 485KB)
• Lake Stewardship Program: 2022 Monitoring Update
• 2021 Lake Stewardship Program Monitoring Report
• 2020 Lake Stewardship Program Monitoring Report
• 2019 Lake Stewardship Program Monitoring Report
• 2018 Lake Stewardship Program Monitoring Report
• 2017 Lake Stewardship Program Monitoring Report
• 2006 Climate and Hydrology (Acrobat PDF, 97KB)
• 2006 Water Quality and Nutrients (Acrobat PDF, 160KB)
• 2006 Chlorophyll and TSI Ratings (Acrobat PDF, 67KB )
• 2004 Annual Report
• 2003 Annual Report
• 2002 Annual Report
• 2001 Annual Report (Acrobat PDF, 4.41MB)
• 2000 Annual Report (Acrobat PDF, 5.04MB)

Lake Stewardship Program staff

If you have any questions or need replacement equipment, please contact the Lake Stewardship Program staff:

Chris Knutson: 206-477-4739

Wafa Tafesh: 206-735-6095

For questions about lakes in King County, please contact lakes@kingcounty.gov or call the Water and Land Resources Division front desk at 206-477-4800.