What is the Lake Health worth to you? Take our survey and enter to win a gift card.

Cultus Lake Stewards
Cultus Lake Stewards
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Estimating the Economic Cost of Losing Cultus Lake to Nutrient pollution - A STUDY

There are growing concerns about the future health of Cultus Lake. Your input will help with understanding what will be lost if investments are not made to protect the lake.   — informing real investment decisions by CLASS and local government.   This survey helps local leaders understand the economic and environmental value of protecting Cultus Lake for the community and visitors.

Please take 10-15 minutes to share your voice and help value the future of Cultus Lake by clicking here. Hosted by UBC Qualtrics. 

By completing the survey, you can choose to enter a draw for a $25 gift card.

Complete the survey

HOW THE STUDY WORKS

 

  • Our research team is  surveying visitors to Cultus Lake throughout the 2026 summer season. Surveys are conducted both in-person and online -- you can start and stop the survey at any time.

WHAT THE SURVEY COVERS

 

  1. Your visit(s) to Cultus Lake -- how often, what you do, how far you travel
  2. How much money you spend during each visit
  3. How often you would visit if the health of the lake changed

WHY IT MATTERS

 

  • Results will be used by CLASS and local government to support investment decisions.  Clear evidence for the value that will be lost if Cultus Lake degrades will help inform decisions about funding investments to protect the lake. 

* NUTRIENT POLLUTION and LAKE HEALTH

Cultus Lake is experiencing declining water quality. Too many nutrients are

entering the lake through runoff from nearby agriculture, but also through

the air. Additionally, climate change is reducing how well the lake can "turn

over". This term describes the seasonal process in which a healthy lake

experiences mixing of the top to bottom layers of water.


Together, these two factors create and worsen periods of low oxygen in the

lake (eutrophication).  This may have the following impacts on the health of Cultus Lake:


  • Increased growth of blue-green algae
  • Increased risk of cyanobacteria blooms (blue-green algae
  • present in large numbers), resulting in more frequent beach
  • closures. See the picture below for an example of a
  • cyanobacteria bloom.
  • Increased water quality advisories
  • Decrease in the clarity of the water
  • Risk of extinction for the native species at Cultus: the Cultus
  • pygmy sculpin and the Cultus sockeye salmon
  • Increased populations of the invasive bass fish
  • Degradation of the natural shoreline

Complete the survey

FUNDING PARTNERS:

THE RESEARCH TEAM

Dr. John Janmaat
Principal Investigator - Regional Innovation Chair in Water Resources & Ecosystem Sustainability, I.K. Barber School of Arts & Sciences, UBC Okanagan

Leonie Steigenberger
Graduate Researcher - Master's thesis research at UBCO, conducted in partnership with the Cultus Lake Stewardship Society

CONTACT THE RESEARCH TEAM: egs.cultus@ubc.ca


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