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.

TOWN OF GENEVA CONTROLLING RUNOFF INTO SENECA LAKE

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One of the biggest issues affecting water quality in Seneca Lake is stormwater runoff.

Water running into the lake contains nutrients thought to be partly responsible for harmful algal blooms. The town of Geneva is working on two projects to control that runoff. 

One is on property off Armstrong Road, including the former Cobtree vacation rental property. Two property owners have agreed to allow the Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District to install retention basins, which will reduce flooding on properties to the east and on State Route 14 during high rain events. The total cost is about $20,000. The District is applying for funding from the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association and the Finger Lakes Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance. The town's share will be $5,000, which is available in the town's Stormwater Control Fund. It would be installed in 2023.

The other is on Carter Road, near the Northside Fire Station. Geneva Town Supervisor Mark Venuti says that project might include a park with a demonstration area highlighting the town's runoff control efforts.

 

The design is expected to cost approximately $90,000, and the town’s share would be $15,000, which could come from both the town’s Parks & Recreation Fund and the Stormwater Control Fund. It would be a 2024 project if the grant application is successful.

 

You can listen to my full Flx Ted Podcast with Mark Venuti below. 

 

FLX TED PODCAST - KAITLIN FELLO, SENECA LAKE PURE WATERS ASSOCIATION

Seneca Lake watershed from senecalake.org

 

In this episode, we discussed:

• A relatively light season this past summer and fall for Harmful Algal Blooms. (HABS) Researchers are still trying to determine the exact cause of HABs and how to limit them.
• The Lake Friendly Living program. Soon, Seneca Lake Pure Waters will publish a list of monthly resolutions each of us can make to protect the lake.
• Recently completed Sediment, Nutrient, and Pollution Reduction (SNPR)  Projects with both Schuyler and Seneca County Soil and Water Districts.
• Plans for the new year: More projects for SNPR, a fishery study continuing during the Memorial Day Lake Trout Derby, Lake Friendly Living Coalition of the Finger Lakes in planning stages of this years LFL Awareness month of May.
• The annual fundraising appeal and the importance of giving, membership and volunteering.
  

 

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