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LakeQuality

Mckay Lake

Shelburne, Nova Scotia28 haView mapDirections

NSECC publishes the water-quality measurements for Mckay Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
1.1 m
Murkier than most
Secchi · sampled 1980
Max depth
9 m
Bathymetric survey
Area
28 ha
Surface area
  • 30 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Mckay Lake in Shelburne, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.1 m visibility. Maximum depth: 29.5 ft. Surface area: 69.2 acres.

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Mckay Lake is a 69-acre lake in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia with a maximum depth of 30 feet (7-foot average).

Source: Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change — not the EPA Water Quality Portal, last sampled 1980-08-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Mckay Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.

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Water quality measurements for Mckay Lake

These are the measurements NSECC publishes for Mckay Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Murky, only visible to about 3.6 ft. TSI 59.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)1.1mMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorusNo reading

The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential.

Chlorophyll-a (algae)No reading

The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water.

Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a.59Eutrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

Ask about Mckay Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Lake Details

Max depth

9 m

Average depth

2.2 m

Surface area

28 ha

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Fishing Mckay Lake

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Frequently asked questions about Mckay Lake

Where is Mckay Lake?

Mckay Lake is a lake in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Its water-quality measurements are published by NSECC and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Mckay Lake?

Mckay Lake in Shelburne, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.1 m visibility. Maximum depth: 29.5 ft. Surface area: 69.2 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Mckay Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Mckay Lake?

Mckay Lake has a maximum depth of 29.5 feet and an average depth of 7.2 feet. The lake covers 69.2 acres.

Where this data comes from

1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 1980. Retrieved from Nova Scotia open data (not the EPA Water Quality Portal) on 2026-08-16.

Collected and reported by

  • Lands and ForestsLands and Forests1 sample · 1980
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
  • 976

Canadian lakes are published with the measurements their provincial programme reports. See where the data comes from and data sources.