Waldo Lake Ecosystem Study and Model CE-QUAL-W2 Model

Waldo Lake is an oligotrophic lake located approximately 93 km southeast of Eugene, Oregon near McCredie Springs and Oakridge, Oregon. The lake lies in a glaciated basin with lateral and end moraines at an elevation of 1650 m (NGVD 29) in the central Oregon Cascade Mountains. Throughout the 20th century the lake was subject to hydropower and irrigation development, fisheries enhancement through mysid and salmonid stocking, and recreational development. Efforts to use the lake for hydropower and irrigation were halted in the 1930s, however, following the opening of a surfaced road to the lake in 1969 recreational use increased.

The Waldo Lake drainage basin is approximately 77.5 km 2 and forms the headwaters of the North Fork of the Middle Fork Willamette River. The lake surface area comprises approximately 84 percent of basin area. The Waldo Lake drainage basin area is 80 percent forested, primarily by Douglas fir, Western Hemlock, Mountain Hemlock and True Fir.

The ecosystem study and modeling project is being conducted by the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs wth supporting faculty from the Department of Environmental Sciences and Resources and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Portland State University . Extensive field studies were conducted in 2003 and continue during 2004. Model development will begin in the summer of 2004.

Since the model development is currently in progress this website will eventually be updated with reports characterizing the model development, calibration, and any model scenarios investigated.

For more information on Waldo Lake studies conducted by the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs click here.

For pictures of Waldo Lake click here.