Chemical composition of surficial sediment in Geneva Lake, Wisconsin

Abstract

Intense recreational use of Geneva Lake and extensive residential and other development in its watershed (fig. 1) has created concern over a possible decline in water quality of the lake. Because of this concern, a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Wiscon- sin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), and the Geneva Lake Environmental Agency was begun to document the present quality of the water and its sediments, to estimate the amount of nutrients (primarily phosphorus) coming into the lake, and to describe changes that have occurred in the lake over the past 200 years. In this fact sheet, we describe the quality of the surficial sediments of the lake.