OWLA meeting - June 1st - Learn more about the Asian Clam

This months OWLA meeting will be on Wednesday June 1st, 7pm at the Springside Inn on Rt 38 in Fleming. There will be an Asian Clam identification training session and Asian Clam update. Dr. Dave MacNeill will be presenting a presentation on ways to identify Asian clams. Also we will be working on planning the Owasco Lake Day event scheduled for August 7th. As always, the public is invited to attend.

Beautiful Day!

Today was gorgeous on the lake! We put some dock in the lake late this afternoon and were impressed with the solitude and beauty.

Temperatures in the 70's, very little if any breeze, the lake was flat. A water skiers dream! The water is still pretty cool but it is warming up fairly fast.  Measured the water temperature and got 57F down 4 feet, and 63F on the surface. Don't forget to wear your PFD's(life jackets) if you are out in the kayak, canoe or boat.

Things look to be shaping up for the holiday weekend. Please be careful out there, and enjoy our beatiful lake!

- Lakeman

Updated OWLA web site on the way

The Owasco Watershed Lake Association is in the process of an update to its web site. Though the present website has served us well, we are in the process of giving it a fresh look, on-line membership renewals and access to social media links for Facebook and Twitter.

There may be temporary gaps in service to the OWLA website over the next few weeks. Please be patient with us as we complete the cut over to the new site. As always you can get the latest Owasco Lake News from this blog or follow us on Facebook.

Drilling Wastewater Rally on Thursday June 2nd

The debate continues on the effect of drilling wastewater in New York State and its impact on water quality. The Auburn City Council discussed the topic briefly in their meeting yesterday, but took no action. CAFA is very concerned with well wastewater presently being treated at the Auburn Sewage Treatment Plant.

Terry Cuddy of the Cayuga Anti-Fracking Alliance has announced a rally at Auburn City Hall next Thursday to protest the City's acceptance of well wastewater.  If you are interested and want to learn more, get to the rally and sign their petition.

Agriculture forums this month

On May 24th and 25th, 2011 The American Farmland Trust is hosting two public forums entitled "Strengthening Agriculture's Role in Protecting Water Quality in the Owasco Lake Watershed". This is an opportunity for officials, residents, farmers and others interested in agriculture's impact on water quality to discuss how all groups can work together to protect water quality in the Owasco Lake Watershed.


Tuesday, May 24th—Moravia Fire House
7:00 pm— 8:30p.m.
38 Keeler Ave., Off of State Rt. 38, Moravia

Wednesday, May 25th 2011— Owasco Fire House, Station #1
7:00 pm— 8:30p.m.
7174 Owasco Rd., Auburn

This forum will focus on agriculture’s role in protecting
Owasco Lake with an opportunity for input about
effective ways to protect water quality.

For more information or to register for
this free forum contact:
Judy Wright, at 315-730-4505
or email jlw4220@yahoo.com

Pre-registration requested by May 23rd
Light refreshments will be served


For more details visit:
http://www.owascolake.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=224:american-farmland-trust-announces-two-public-forums&catid=63:news&Itemid=160

Great Recycling Event!

The Cayuga County Electronics recycling event this past Saturday was a huge success. Long lines of vehicles were apparent for most of the day at the BOCES facility on West Genesee St. in Aurelius. The good news was that line moved fairly quickly and my wait was only about 30-40 minutes. The Staff and volunteers were kept very busy unloading cars loaded with old TV's, batteries, computers and light bulbs. The annual recycling event is intended to keep these types of products out of our limited land fill space and to also prevent possible ground water contamination. Thanks to all the various agency staff, volunteers and participants for all doing their part to recycle in Cayuga County.

To learn more about recycling in Cayuga County, visit the CC Planning Dept. website: http://www.cayuganet.org/hazwaste/index.html

Also watch for more news about future recycling events here.

Owasco Lake boating ban lifted

The Auburn Citizen is reporting this morning that the boating ban on Owasco Lake has been lifted. The ban was posted last weekend because of high water on local waters.

Do-It-Yourself Water Quality

Are you interested in what you or your town can do to improve water quality?

The Fund for Lake George has created a publication that will help you learn more about land management and development techniques that can improve water quality. The publication titled "Do-It-Yourself Water Quality" was recently published by this very active environmental group in eastern NY.

While directed at Lake George, all of its suggestions apply very well to water bodies here in the Fingerlakes. Topics such as septic system maintenance, creating stream or shoreline buffers and the proper use of fertilizers are well documented in this 60 page color document.

Check it out at: http://www.fundforlakegeorge.org/index.asp?lg=1&w=pages&r=0&pid=72

This group's website also has a lot of other great information on protecting water quality. Their fact sheets are very well done and cover many interesting topics. Link: http://www.fundforlakegeorge.org/index.asp?lg=1&w=pages&r=-1&pid=0

Boater Safety Classes

Upcoming Cayuga County Boater Safety Courses:


Sunday, May 15, 2011Bass Pro, FingerLakes Mall, Auburn (Cayuga)Instructor: Gray, Ralph (315)258-2700This class is for adults and children, register at customer serviceThe instructor charges a fee for this course. If you are over 18 in addition to the class fee you will be required to pay NYS Parks a $10.00 fee for your boating safety certificate.

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Sat. May 28^th, 2011 from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Scipio Fire Department, 3550 State Route 34, Scipio Center, NY. 

Contact Deputy John Nedza at 315 294-8145 to reserve a seat.  Space is limited so reservations are required. Learn more:http://the390.com/finger-lakes-2/cayuga-county-sheriff%E2%80%99s-office-sponsoring-a-boater-safety-course 

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Sunday, June 05, 2011
Cayuga Comm. College, Auburn (Cayuga)Instructors: Stiver, Leonard (315)255-1743This class is for adults and children.The instructor charges a fee for this course. If you are over 18 in addition to the class fee you will be required to pay NYS Parks a $10.00 fee for your boating safety certificate.

Sheriff warns - No Unnecessary Boating

Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould has announced a No Unnecessary Boating warning on Cayuga County waters until the high waters recede. Recent heavy rains in the area have caused local waters to rise and has also brought large amounts of debris to our waterways. Over 3.5" of rain have fallen at Owasco Lake over the past week. The Owasco Lake level at 5:00am today was 713.65'.

Link to Auburn Citizen article: http://auburnpub.com/news/local/article_fd42fd00-73a8-11e0-81c7-001cc4c03286.html