Water Quality, Hydrology, and Simulated Response to Changes in Phosphorus Loading of Butternut Lake, Price and Ashland Counties, Wi, with Emphasis on

Butternut Lake is a 393-hectare, eutrophic to hypereutrophic lake in northcentral Wisconsin. After only minor improvements in water quality were observed following several actions taken to reduce the nutrient inputs to the lake, a detailed study was conducted from 2002 to 2007 by the U.S. Geological Survey to better understand how the lake functions. The goals of this study were to describe the water quality and hydrology of the lake, quantify external and internal sources of phosphorus, and determine the effects of past and future changes in phosphorus inputs on the water quality of the lake.