The Trent Aquatic Research Program under the direction of Dr Paul Frost tracks the health of 52 lakes in the Kawarthas, Chandos being one of them.
The 2020 TARP Report can be found here.
The 2022 TARP Report can be found here.
The 2024 TARP Report can be found here.
The 2025 TARP Report can be found here.
The 2025 report is actually titled “Kawartha Highlands Water Quality Report 2026” but contains the 2025 data along with some significantly pertinent commentary.
Relative to the other lakes in the Kawarthas, Chandos scores very well. Our 2025 bottom Oxygen levels reported are good, but we do not know where exactly in Chandos the measurement was taken. We know that there is significant difference between levels in Gilmour Bay and the main lake,
2025 Dissolved Calcium stood out as being higher than most lakes. Calcium levels are a critical determinant for the establishment of invasive calcium-dependent species like zebra and quagga mussels in lakes. High calcium concentrations support invasive shell growth, while low-calcium environments (< 2.5mg/L) generally limit their survival.
2025 Total Phos reported of 6.72 is respectable and well below the 10 ug/L. that signals concern. Again, we don’t know where in the lake this measurement was taken. But we can do better! Septics! Setbacks! Shoreline Vegetation!
2025 Specific Conductivity was pretty high relatively speaking, usually indicating hard water. This can be expected at Chandos because we’re pretty much a ground water lake, meaning there is quite a bit of dissolved rock. Higher SC can also be caused by a lot of road salt, but we don’t think that is the reason for the higher readings.
A short primer that gives additional background information on the data presented in the report can be found here.
This 2018/19 TARP report (power point presentation slides) offers some comparative data on regional lakes.
We are fortunate to have our lake included in this long term study by this world class research lab and their efforts are worthy of support by all regional lake associations. (boats/volunteers/dollars)
Chandos Lake Science 2 