Shortts Lake
Colchester, Nova Scotia178 haView mapDirections
NSECC publishes the water-quality measurements for Shortts Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 46 ft max depth
- Limited data
Shortts Lake in Colchester, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.5 m visibility. Phosphorus: 5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.4 µg/L. Maximum depth: 45.9 ft. Surface area: 440.1 acres.
Shortts Lake is a 440-acre lake in Colchester County, Nova Scotia with a maximum depth of 46 feet (12-foot average).
Source: Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change — not the EPA Water Quality Portal, last sampled 2014-06-26. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Shortts Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water14.8 ft of visibility
- Deep water45.9 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Shortts 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.
Water quality measurements for Shortts Lake
These are the measurements NSECC publishes for Shortts Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 14.8 ft. Phosphorus 5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.4 µg/L. TSI 35.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.53m | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 5µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.4µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 35 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Shortts Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
14 m
Average depth
3.6 m
Surface area
178 ha
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Frequently asked questions about Shortts Lake
Where is Shortts Lake?
- Shortts Lake is a lake in Colchester, Nova Scotia. Its water-quality measurements are published by NSECC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Shortts Lake?
- Shortts Lake in Colchester, Nova Scotia has water-quality measurements published by NSECC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.5 m visibility. Phosphorus: 5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.4 µg/L. Maximum depth: 45.9 ft. Surface area: 440.1 acres.
Is Shortts Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Shortts Lake?
- Shortts Lake has a maximum depth of 45.9 feet and an average depth of 11.8 feet. The lake covers 440.1 acres.
Explore Shortts Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 1973–2014. Retrieved from Nova Scotia open data (not the EPA Water Quality Portal) on 2026-08-16.
Collected and reported by
- NS Department of Fisheries & Aquaculture
NS Department of Fisheries & Aquaculture1 sample · 2014 - NSDAF
NSDAF1 sample · 2005 - Lands and Forests
Lands and Forests1 sample · 1973
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
36
Canadian lakes are published with the measurements their provincial programme reports. See where the data comes from and data sources.