SENECA LAKE PURE WATERS ASSOCIATION PARTNERS ON RUNOFF CONTROL PROGRAMS

The Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association has recently completed a pair of runoff control projects with the Schuyler and Seneca County Soil and Water Conservation Districts. 

Association Director Kaitlin Fello says the Sediment, Nutrient, and Pollution Reduction program (SNPR) was established in 2021 with an eye toward making a noticeable improvement in the water quality of the lake.

Sediment and nutrients in water running into the lake are believed to be one of the causes of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).

Common stormwater management techniques include:

Diversion away from polluted areas with culverts and stabilized ditches, vegetated and dry swales, bioretention and settling ponds, and more.

Erosion control measures include:

Cover crops and crop rotation, conservation tillage, stream bank plantings, vegetated strip plantings, riparian buffers, to name just a few.

Implementing stormwater management practices and sediment and erosion controls allow pollutants to beneficially settle, and soil to stay in place and out of the water that sustains us and our way of living.

You can listen to my full Flx Ted Podcast with Kaitlin Fello below.