Feasibility of Snow Clearing to Improve Dissolved Oxygen Conditions in a Winterkill Lake

Abstract

Although periodic mechanical snow removal from the surface of an experimental plot on Rock Lake, southern Manitoba, between January and February, did not provide an expected increase of dissolved oxygen levels that would reduce the likelihood of fish winterkill in the localized area of the lake, it provided a basis for analyzing the practicality and feasibility of the method. The minimum lake area to be kept clear of snow for prevention of winterkill was calculated to be 15% of the total lake area. Snow clearing should start soon after freeze-up to provide at least 0.3 g∙m−2 d−1 dissolved oxygen needed to compensate for bacterial oxygen uptake during the winter months.