Volunteer monitoring began at Jones Lake in 2000 and continued through 2004, when it was discontinued. The data indicate that this city lake (Black Diamond) is moderate to high in primary productivity (threshold eutrophic), with good to fair water quality. The lake was too shallow for profile sampling. Nitrogen to phosphorus ratios were generally above 20:1, which generally favors other algae over bluegreens.
Jones Lake currently has no public access points, but users should keep an eye on aquatic plants growing nearshore to catch early infestations of Eurasian milfoil, Brazilian elodea or other noxious weeds.
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The average of these three TSI indicators during the growing season can be used to place lakes in one of three broad categories: <40 = oligotrophic (low productivity), 40 to 50 = mesotrophic (moderate productivity) >50 = eutrophic (highly productive).