Little Lake is a small lake on the Otonabee River in the city of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. The lake is in the downtown of the city and is used for fishing, swimming, boating, and for various special events. The lake lies on the water route from Lake Ontario to the Kawartha Lakes.The area around the lake was first settled by Europeans around the start of the 19th century. Steam- and water-powered saw mills were built on the lake and on the river upstream to prepare lumber for shipment overseas.Sawdust and other debris from the mills polluted the lake, killed the fish and clogged up the navigable channels.The smell was so noxious it drove residents near the lake to move.These problems were resolved by the end of the century, when the lake became a hub on the new Trent-Severn Waterway fr