pH at Little Moose Lake

The pH levels in Little Moose lake are normally about 7.0. During the snow melting, in early March, the lake pH dropped to 6.0. An outlet stream from the lake reached a low pH of 4.8. A small brook nearby hit a low pH of 4.6 during the snow melt period. The average pH in this brook during the rest of the year is about 5.4. There was a definite relationship of the amount of aluminum in the brook vs. pH. As the pH decreased, the aluminum concentration increased.

Captive populations of adult, year old, and larval brook trout had been maintained over the winter in Little Moose Lake water without any problems. During the snow melt in March, 3 adult brook trout died, 25 one year old trout died, and about 50,000 recently hatched trout died. Various other abnormal behaviors were also observed.