SENATORS HERALD STATE FUNDING FOR OWASCO LAKE

ALBANY, 04/01/15:  State Senators John DeFrancisco, Mike Nozzolio and James L. Seward announced today that the new state budget includes a major win for one of Cayuga County’s key natural resources.

The senators announced that $600,000 in state funding has been awarded to the Owasco Watershed Lake Association to support ongoing and long-term efforts to improve water quality throughout the watershed.

Senator James L. Seward said, “Local officials have already embarked on a responsive path toward rejuvenating Owasco Lake and my senate colleague and I are pleased to assist in continuing the work.  This grant will further enhance the ability of the Owasco Watershed Lake Association and other stakeholders to make notable improvements to this prime source of drinking water, recreational activity, and future economic development.”

Senator Mike Nozzolio said, “As State Senator representing the Finger Lakes region, the health of our lakes has always been one of my top priorities.  Owasco Lake is one of our region’s most unique and magnificent environmental jewels and decisive action needs to be taken to prevent further pollution of the lake. I am pleased my colleagues and I were able to secure this funding to help preserve and revitalize Owasco Lake, ensuring its protection, and securing its potential, for generations to come.”

Senate Finance Chairman John A. DeFrancisco said, “The funding for Owasco Lake is one of many measures included in the state budget that reaffirms our strong commitment to protecting New York’s natural resources.  I was pleased to work with the senate team from Cayuga County to secure this vital funding and to help enrich our community.”

Information session on manure spreading on frozen ground - October 29th

A community discussion to focus on manure runoff in Cayuga County watersheds is being held later this month. This is a serious problem in not only Cayuga County, but across the entire Finger Lakes region. This is an excellent opportunity for the community to give their opinion on this growing problem.

This event is in response to several incidents that happened last winter in the Owasco Lake watershed. The meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES campus on Genesee Street Road in Aurelius, NY.

Details here: http://www.owla.org/manure%20Forum%20poster-1.pdf

Read more about this at:http://auburnpub.com/news/local/cayuga-county-legislators-plan-community-discussion-on-manure-runoff/article_262ecdff-637b-58ce-a1f9-2eb35dab1b7d.html

Ongoing manure spreading issue on west side of Owasco Lake

There are many pressures to the water quality of Owasco Lake. One significant issue is the late winter, early spring spreading of large amounts of manure on land near the lake. This is not a new issue. OWLA members have tried to get attention brought to these practices several times in the last 3 years. This is a growing problem all around NY state and needs the attention of the NYSDEC and our local, state and federal officials. It's time to change some practices that are being done by large farm operations in this state. Many other states have enacted legislation to prevent these types of activities during late winter. Hopefully our local leaders and the Leadership of OWLA will lead the charge to get the DEC to enforce present laws as well as enact some better legislation to prevent the type of pollution that takes places under adverse weather conditions.

The Auburn Citizen had a good article on the topic in today's paper. See the article here:   http://auburnpub.com/news/local/owasco-lake-advocates-decry-runoff-of-manure-into-water/article_498bd2fe-a7ec-5994-b4ed-005111da2e89.html

Owasco Lake Symposium - March 1st

Saturday, March 1, 2014 from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon

Cayuga Community College

Bisgrove Auditorium

199 Franklin Street, Auburn, New York

The State of the Lake

A Scientific Symposium in Plain English

Speakers:

The Trophic Status of Owasco Lake

John Halfman, Ph.D., Finger Lakes Institute

The Trophic State

within the Context of Public Water Supply and Recreation

Clifford W. Callinan, P.E., NYS DEC Division of Water

The Trophic State

within the Context of Invasive Species and Blue Green Algae

Scott Kishbaugh, NYS DEC Division of Water

Lawn care and the lake!

 It's that time of year when most of us are busy caring for our lawns. The Owasco Lake Water Inspector Katie Jacob recently wrote an interesting column on lawn care in the Auburn Citizen. Please read more on what you can do to minimize our lawns impact on the lake.

 (link:http://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/how-your-lawn-care-can-influence-our-lake-s-health/article_125a0bb4-40c7-50f8-afd5-13400fa38400.html)

New USDA Report Shows Conservation Practices Reducing Sediment, Nitrogen and Phosphorus

A new USDA study shows that farmers using combinations of erosion-control and nutrient-management practices on cultivated cropland are reducing losses of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorous from farm fields and decreasing the movement of these materials to the Great Lakes and their associated waterways.

“The Great Lakes Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) study confirms that good conservation planning and implementation have reduced loadings of sediment and nutrients to waterways throughout the region,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today. “The Administration appreciates the actions of every farmer who is stepping up to implement conservation practices, protect vital farmlands and strengthen local economies. At the same time, we also see opportunities for even further progress.”

OWLA supports these efforts in the Owasco Lake watershed and we hope more of these efforts can be continued in all of the FingerLakes watersheds. 

Read more at:   http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/?

Conference on Phosphorus

The Cayuga Lake Watershed Network is sponsoring a half day conference in Ithaca on October 24th at the Ithaca Unitarian Church Annex (208 E. Buffalo Street). The program sounds very interesting, you may want to take this opportunity to learn about how Cayuga Lake is responding to phosphorus issues in their watershed.

Press release from the CLWN:

A FREE fall conference will be held October 24 in Ithaca, 9am - noon. Entitled Phosphorus Inputs into Cayuga Lake, speakers include Roxy Johnson, Doug Haith, Steve Penningroth, and Todd Walter. A panel discussion will include the above speakers, as well as Jose Lozano and Bob Johnson.

The south end of Cayuga Lake has been listed as impaired by the DEC in part because of excess phosphorous inputs. Rectifying this situation requires a better understanding of what are the main inputs of phosphorous to the south end of the lake and what can be done to reduce them. The lake source cooling scheme of Cornell has been targeted as a significant contributor, but is it?
This public seminar has been organized by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and the Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Organization to address these issues. Ithaca Unitarian Church Annex (208 E. Buffalo Street).

Program:
9 – 9.30 “Phosphorous and sediment monitoring results from three Cayuga Lake creeks,” Roxy Johnson, City of Ithaca.
9.30 – 9.45 “Volunteer monitors, certified lab tests and USGS flow data: a solid basis for estimating nutrient and sediment loading from tributary streams to southern Cayuga Lake,” Steve Penningroth, Community Science Institute.
9.45 – 10.30 “Estimating nutrient and sediment loads to Cayuga Lake,” Professor Doug Haith, Cornell University.
10.30 -10.45 Refreshments
10.45 – 11.15 “Do agricultural best management practices work? Combining monitoring and modeling to find answers,” Professor Todd Walter, Cornell University.
11.15 – 12.00 Panel discussion with authors and additional guests including Jose Lozano of the City of Ithaca and Bob Johnson of Cornell University

Focus on mowing, not fertilizing.......

With the lawn care season in full swing, we are all spending time caring for our yard. I have seen numerous articles in magazines and newspapers lately with various bits of environmentally friendly guidance for our lawns. One article I read on the web was quite interesting. It was from the Horticulture Dept. at Cornell and the title was "For A 'Green' Lawn, Focus On Mowing, Not Early Fertilizing" It really hits home with the on-going issues with heavy Phosphorus loading in the fingerlakes. We can all do our part to minimize the amount of phosphorus that gets into our lakes and streams. Take a look at the article through the link below.

- get out and enjoy the outdoors! - Lakeman

link to Cornell Dept. of Horticulture lawn care article :http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/news/lawn.html

Proposed Ban on Phosphorus fertilizer

There is a very interesting article in today's Syracuse Post-Standard detailing a proposed law in Cazenovia to ban fertizlizers with Phosphorus. Ten years ago there were not very many alternatives to phosphorus laden fertilizers. Today it is much different. Most home centers and hardware retailers carry Zero-phosphorus fertilizers. In Cayuga County, you can contact the Soil and Water Conservation District for a ZERO-phosphorous fertizlizer for your lawn. We encourage you to try them.

Cazenovia is one of the first CNY municipalities to consider an outright ban on Phosphorus based fertizlers. It will be interesting to watch what the community's response will be.

Phosphorus run off to Owasco Lake is documented as one of our biggest issues relating to water quality. What do you think about the proposal? Should we try it in the Owasco Lake Watershed?

Get out and enjoy the snow....
- Lakeman

Link to Post_Standard article:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/cazenovia_seeks_to_ban_use_of.html

Link to the proposed law:
http://townofcazenovia.org/content/Generic/View/26

Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District's Fertilizer offer:

Watershed Friendly Fertilizer
The Cayuga County Soil & Water Cons. District has available at a reduced price, a ZERO-phosphorous fertizlizer for your lawn. 50 lb. bags are only $10.00 The formulation will provide sustained color and hardiness while eliminating the potential negative effects that excess phosphourus has on water quality. A great way that you can help improve water quality in our watershed.
Contact the CC Soil & Water Cons. Dist.
at 315.252.4171 ext. 3 for more information.