“Frog Spit” in the Lake
Ann MacNamara recently posted regarding the alarming rise in green goop in our normally pristine waters and indicated that many neighbors were voicing concerns. Ann had contacted the DEC and sent in a water sample from a highly contaminated lake section of our road. Following her efforts I contacted Scott Kishbaugh at the DEC who is a water quality guru for the Finger Lakes and asked whether or not unusual and/or uncommon conditions were present in the lake which generally have not been historically present. Here are some of my recollections of our conversation.
First the good news. The sample Ann sent for analysis WAS NOT blue-green algae which can be a potential toxin to humans and animals. The DEC monitors and attempts to mitigate outbreaks of this algae in the lakes and there have been numerous locations in the Finger Lakes experiencing this algae this year. So far, however, there is no indication our Honoco lakefront section is among them.
Our sample is a concentrated form of algae most of us call “frog spit” or “green goop”. It is a common algae in the lake (I forget the technical name), but according to Scott algal blooms have spiraled out of control within the last 3-4 weeks in many of the lakes. The DEC has been overwhelmed with calls from Seneca, Cayuga, and Owasco residents voicing concern, so much so that Scott is dispatching regional DEC reps to provide further investigation into the situation. Honoco will be included in the analysis.
The current thinking at the DEC, and I concur with their thinking, is that we had a number of climatological factors that have made this a very unusual year. A very cool spring, a very unusually wet early summer which dumped very heavy quantities of silt into the water, continuing turbidity which is a haven for algae formation, and a very rapid rise in the surface temperatures on the lake, have made this year kind of a Woodstock gathering for algae.
Having said that, however, the DEC is not ruling out the possibility that an unregulated or unknown new source of nutrients (probably mostly human generated if you get my drift) might be contributing, and they will be taking a close look at discovering their presence.
Now the bad news. It is too late in the season to do much about mitigating the algae conditions. By the time the DEC creates and submits a mitigation plan and gets it approved and implemented, most everyone will be gone for the year and mother nature will naturally take care of it over the winter. The good news in the bad news is that Scott does not believe at this point that this is a harbinger of future blooms or ugly seaweed conditions on the lake which will increase every year. However, it is a message to all of us that uncontrolled release of “nutrients” into the lake such as those from our grey water and black water sources on the road are a big contributor to our localized problem.
Scott indicated that he will likely be posting current information and general recommendations for mitigation on a DEC website in the near future in order to help keep us updated of the current DEC thinking, progress regarding the situation, and maybe some short-term interventions we might be able to make as homeowners. As soon as I have more info I will let everyone know. Thx.
I also talked to Scott Kishbaugh and Mac Kasmerski out of the Syracuse Office and told him that I’ve seen this for three years; each year getting worse. This is not only a “gray water” problem. I reminded Mr. Kasmerski of the manure that was spread on snow and then rained on that then drained into Owasco and Cayuga Lakes. He agreed that the damage was done even if the offending party was fined. With hedge rows being removed and thousands of feet of field tiles dumping into culverts-this problem is not going away. I have been on this lake for 50 years and there was no seaweed at this end of the lake to speak of compared to what we have today. Governments (DEC) need to be more proactive in protecting our watersheds. Our lakes needs to be protected for our economy and property values but most important for the happiness and joy generation of families have experienced over the years. Do you want a lake that you can walk across? Thank You