Hello Province Lake Community,

See note below from Kate Hastings at NH DES.  Hoping for better news soon but wanted to make sure we spread the word.  Healthy Swimming Mapper is a great tool to keep track of our lake’s Cyanobacteria status.

Jim Aiken

PLA

Hi All,

Province Lake was resampled today, 13 July 2023. The cyanobacteria density continues to exceed the state limit of 70,000 cell/mL, so the advisory will remain active. The highest observed density today was 342,200 cells/mL of Dolichospermum. Please keep signs posted at public access points. NHDES will arrange for sampling again next week. If people ask for updates on the current cyanobacteria advisory status, please direct them to the Healthy Swimming Mapper. If you click on the advisory symbol, you can see our most recent sampling date. When advisories are lifted, the red symbol for the waterbody will no longer be on the map.  

Hello all,

If the rain would ever stop, maybe we can still have a summer.  I can’t remember seeing the lake this high at this time of year.  At any rate, as you all should know we will be having the Province Lake Association Annual Meeting on July 22nd at 9:00 at Edge Lake Farm at the golf course.  So, mark your calendars if you haven’t already. 

As in previous years, we will be voting on a few things at the meeting.  Anyone is invited to attend the meeting, but only members can vote on any business needing votes.  If you aren’t a member yet, you can join before the meeting at our website under the “About” tab.  You can also join at the meeting itself.  There are two specific items to be voted on.

First are the minutes from last year’s annual meeting which you can read on our website at this link ….

PLA Annual Meeting Minutes

Second  we will be voting on Board members.  The nominating committee of the Board has put together a list of 4 candidates that are current Board members looking to stay for another term.  So that you have an idea of who these people are, you can read a short bio on them at this link … 

2023 Board Bios

Nominees from the floor will also be considered at the meeting and should be prepared to discuss why they would like to be on the board etc..

That’s it for now, hope to see you there.

The PLA

PLA Members,

The cyanobacteria advisory for Province Lake has been lifted as of today (June 8th). The red cyanobacteria signs at public access points around the lake are being taken down.

A message from the NH DES:

“The cyanobacteria WARNING (ADVISORY) that was issued on 1 June 2023 has been REMOVED for Province Lake, Effingham/Wakefield as of today 8 June 2023. While the bloom accumulation has dissipated, NHDES advises that lake-goers look out for green surface accumulations in the future. Please continue to monitor your individual shoreline for changing conditions.”

Regards,
The PLA Board

PLA Members,

The cyanobacteria blooms we have been monitoring since this past weekend have unfortunately worsened.

NHDES has now issued a cyanobacteria advisory for Province Lake.

Signs are being placed around the lake at all public access points.

The NHDES warning is as follows:

“A cyanobacteria WARNING (ADVISORY) has been issued for Province Lake, Effingham/Wakefield. The sample reviewed today had cyanobacteria (Dolichospermum) in concentrations up to 504,000 cells/mL in areas of highest observed accumulations. Advisories are issued when cell counts exceed 70,000 cells/mL. NHDES advises lake users to not wade or swim in the water during an advisory. Please also keep pets and livestock out. The advisory is not based on a toxin evaluation and is intended as a precautionary measure for short term exposure.  

NHDES will resample in a week. I will reach out to you before then for updates. If you have information on where accumulated material is being observed at that time, please let us know to guide our sampling efforts. Advisories remain active until the bloom subsides.”

Regards,

The PLA Board

Hello PLA Membership,

Below is a link to another Advisory from NHDES regarding the stubborn bloom we are experiencing on Province Lake.  

Hoping this goes away soon,

Jim Aiken 

PLA

Oct 6 2022 DES Press Release

Unfortunately we are still seeing sporadic localized blooms at Province Lake and NH DES has reissued a local alert.

They write …

Hi All,

Province Lake has continued to have sporadic cyanobacteria blooms since NHDES lifted the advisory on 9/21/22. I am issuing a local alert, going into effect today, 10/3/22 to keep residents aware of the situation. Cyanobacteria bloom conditions can change rapidly, so it is best to be on the watch for developing conditions. Please see the attached alert document. NHDES will resample if bloom conditions persist on the water long enough for samples to be representative of current conditions.

This is not an official cyanobacteria advisory, and signs do not need to be posted. I will be in contact again if conditions change, and an official advisory is issued.  

Please forward to other residents / community members around the waterbody, and provide me with any contacts (first and last names, and emails) of folks who would want to be directly included on future communications from NHDES. 

Best,
Kate Langley Hastings
Cyanobacteria HAB Program Coordinator
Watershed Management Bureau, Water Division
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
29 Hazen Drive, P.O. Box 95, Concord, NH 03302-0095
603-848-8094  kate.l.hastings@des.nh.gov
she/her

Province Lake Alert Oct 3 2022

Hello PLA Members,

Recent NHDES testing found that Province Lake did not have any measurable bloom forming cyanobacteria present and decided to lift the cyanobacteria advisory today.  While that news was welcome our members have continued to see sporadic visual signs of a cyanobacteria bloom as recent as today 9/21/22.  We will be taking the red cyanobacteria warning signs down but NHDES guidance is to not go into the water if visual signs of a bloom are present.  It is particularly important to keep dogs and children out of the water when a bloom is observed.

The official press release can be read here.

Thank you,

Jim Aiken

PLA

Hi All,

A cyanobacteria advisory has been issued by NH DES for Province Lake as of late on September 7, 2022. The official press release is attached below. There also is an info poster attached for your reference. You all need to use caution and make your own determinations on whether to recreate in the lake. DES will sample again in a week to see if the advisory will stay in place. The picture below is from this morning Sept 8.

NH DES Press Release 09072022

NH DES Infographic Cyano

The 2022 Annual Meeting Minutes and the Audit Report for fiscal year 2021 are now available on the website. Click on the “News and Important Info” tab above and then choose the “PLA Annual Meeting Minutes” from the drop down.

Enjoy!

The PLA

Hi All,

As you all should be aware, the Province Lake Association Annual Meeting will take place this coming Saturday the 23rd of July at 9:00 am at the Edge Lake Farm over at the golf course.

There will be a few items requiring a vote of the members.  Remember, you must be a member to vote.  So if you haven’t joined yet, you can join at the meeting itself.  On a couple of the items, we felt we should give you information in advance to read.  Those items are as follows:

The first item is for the Officers and Directors of the organization.  All the officer terms and several board member terms are expiring and need to be renewed or replaced.  In addition, we have a few open board positions we are proposing to fill.  We thought it would be helpful if we were to send some information about each nominee so that you have a feel for who they are.  As such below is a link to brief bios of all those to be voted on at the meeting.  Nominees from the floor will also be considered at the meeting and should be prepared to discuss why they would like to be on the board etc..

The second item to be voted on is the approval of last years (2021) annual meeting minutes.  You can review those before the meeting on our website at this link …… https://provincelake.org/news-2/annual-meeting-minutes/   They are the top bullet on the website page.

That’s it for now.  Hope to see you there.

The PLA

2022 PLA Board Nominees Bios