- Geoffrey Millard, May 2017
*Update Sept 2017 - Skaneateles Lake has tested positive for toxins derived from harmful algael blooms. For more information check out syracuse.com, the Skaneateles Lake Association, the NYSDEC HAB monitoring website
Our planet is covered in water, but only about two percent of the planet’s water is freshwater, and only half of that is safe to drink. In the northeastern United States there is plenty of fresh surface water. New York City gets almost all of its ready for use drinking water directly from the Catskills region of New York State. Other areas of the state also get their drinking water from clean surface water.
The Finger Lakes region is a beautiful part of New York State. Much of the local economy revolves around the 11 lakes that make up this area. Owasco Lake, located just under an hour away from Syracuse, New York, is one of these fingers. Despite excellent water quality, this lake has been experiencing an increase in harmful algal blooms (HABs) over the past few years.
Photo: Bill Hecht
Typically these bloom events are driven by extra phosphorus entering the water from agricultural sources, and about half of the land that drains into Owasco Lake is agricultural (Watershed Management Plan, 2015). As Tracy Verrier and Aimee Clinkhammer point out, farms in the watershed are already employing best management practices and phosphorus concentrations at Owasco Lake are below levels normally considered safe.
Photo: Tim Schneider
Figuring out what is happening at Owasco Lake will not be simple. However that is what the NYS DEC Finger Lakes Water Hub, along with partners at the Finger Lakes Institute, SUNY ESF, and the Upstate Freshwater Institute are going to figure out. In the words of Ms. Clinkhammer, "Everybody at the end of the day is working towards the same thing, cleaner water."
As promised, the short video below shows a zebra mussel eating and then spitting back out microcystis bacteria. While not true algae, microcystis are part of what makes a HAB. The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory originally posted this on Youtube.
Want to get involved? Check out these community groups working on the Owasco Lake mystery:
Have more questions? These government/research organizations might have answers:
Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District
Owasco Lake Watershed Management Council
Owasco Lake Watershed Inspection Program
Special thanks to:
Aimee Clinkhammer, DEC Finger Lakes Water Hub
Tracy Verrier, Cayuga Chamber of Commerce and Cayuga Economic Development Agency
Gwendolyn Craig, Auburn Citizen
Rebecca Gorney, DEC Division of Water, Lake Monitoring and Assessment Section
Tim Schneider, Owasco Lake Inspection Program
Lisa Cleckner, Finger Lakes Institute
John Halfman, Finger Lakes Institute
Credits:
Created with images by eyeImage - "green blue water" • eflon - "Cayuga Lake" • holl7510 - "Keuka Lake - Winter Sunrise Panorama" • dweekly - "Mushers en route to Finger Lake"