Posts Tagged ‘water quality’

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Still No Source For Contamination At Million Dollar Beach

As the season draws to a close, Lake George partner groups, including the Fund for Lake George, Lake George Waterkeeper Program and the Lake George Association, along with state and local governments, continue to search for the source of contamination to the lake water at Million Dollar Beach. The Department of Environmental Conservation closed the beach again recently after detecting bacterial contamination.

“Unfortunately, Lake George continues to be compromised through contamination from an apparent human source at Million Dollar Beach,” said Chris Navitsky, the Lake George Waterkeeper, in a press release issued by the Fund for Lake George. “While tracing the exact origin of the contamination is a complicated issue, we are confident this problem can be solved with a focused, science-driven plan of action.” » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, July 25, 2017

A North Country Eel Story That Will Leave You Squirming

When stuff doesn’t work, we either play Mr. Fixit or call someone. Whether it’s a job for your auto mechanic, furnace repair technician, or electrician, the expert usually has a good idea of what’s causing a particular problem. But sometimes malfunctions are real puzzlers.

From the 1870s well into the 1900s, mystery surrounded many incidents where faucets or pipes were opened but the water didn’t flow. When that happened, there were real consequences: a factory couldn’t operate or a school might close. For citizens lucky enough to have running water in their homes, it meant going without — or, if it were available, hauling water from community wells.

For a plumber, the natural assumption was that a clog was the culprit — a piece of clothing, a collection of sediment, or an accumulation of greasy materials. When nothing of the sort was found using the usual tools, a difficult search ensued — unless plumber was experienced. In that case, he might have suspected eels. » Continue Reading.


Friday, June 30, 2017

Effort To Find Pollution Impacting Million Dollar Beach Expands

Add The Fund for Lake George and its Lake George Waterkeeper program to the list of groups working diligently to discover what may be causing E.coli to show up in water testing at Million Dollar Beach. The beach — as of Thursday — is open, though water testing by DEC continues daily.

The Fund was invited to its first meeting about the problem last week and signed on to provide technical leadership, “expertise and advice,” said Chris Navitsky, Lake George Waterkeeper and a licensed engineer. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Lake George ‘Million Dollar Beach’ Closed Again by E coli

Lake George Village from Prospect Mountain courtesy Diane Chase of Adirondack Family Time. After several false starts this season, Million Dollar Beach in Lake George is closed again — just two weeks from the Fourth of July holiday — as a number of concerned towns and agencies run tests to determine the source of E. coli in the lake.

“This is an unprecedented occurrence on our lake that demands a swift response,” said Lake George Mayor Robert Blais in a news release from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. “The Village of Lake George has committed all available staff and resources and is working closely with DEC to resolve the problem and protect our beautiful lake.” » Continue Reading.


Thursday, June 15, 2017

Adirondack Lake Program Marking 20 Years of Science

TAdirondack Lake Assessment he Adirondack Lake Assessment Program (ALAP) celebrates its 20th season this year of monitoring the water quality of dozens of lakes and ponds across the Adirondacks. ALAP is a partnership between Protect the Adirondacks and the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College.

Believing good public policy is dependent on accurate data and science, ALAP started in 1998 with three objectives: 1) to organize long-term water quality data on individual lakes and ponds in the Adirondack Park; 2) to provide long-term trend data on individual lakes and ponds for local residents, lake associations, property owners and local governments to help organize water quality protection efforts; and, 3) to assemble a profile of water quality conditions across the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, May 23, 2017

E Coli Gone, New Access At Million Dollar Beach In Lake George

Lake George Beach – or as absolutely everyone knows it, Million Dollar Beach – will safely reopen this season after a not-so-great bout with unsafe bacteria levels last summer determined to come from sewage waste. The good news, aside from safe, now-clean water, is the beach will reopen with some new amenities also – lighting, a new entrance and another entrance through which people can enter the beach. It opens May 27.

“The first thing to consider is the health and safety of the public,” said Bob Stegemann, regional director for the DEC’s Region 5. “These are all good moves to improve the experience at Lake George for the public.” » Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 18, 2017

Riverkeeper’s Upper Hudson Water Quality Program

lake tear of the cloudsRiverkeeper partners with more than 40 institutions and over 160 individuals to sample more than 400 locations throughout the Hudson River Watershed monthly from May through October. The data collection measures concentration of the fecal indicator bacteria Enterococcus (Entero) using EPA-approved methods. Results are reported in Entero count per 100 mL of water. Entero is present in the guts of warm-blooded animals, and while it is used to detect the likely presence of untreated human sewage, in some cases it may also indicate the presence of fecal contamination from geese, cattle or other animals. Riverkeeper measures results of water samples based on the EPA’s Recreational Water Quality Criteria, which New York State is currently using to update state Water Quality Standards. » Continue Reading.


Monday, May 8, 2017

Champlain Watershed Restoration Projects Sought

The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP), in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), is soliciting Letters of Request for watershed restoration projects. The Lake Champlain Watershed Environmental Assistance Program awards design and construction services provided by the New York District of the Corps. Letters of Request may be submitted at any time for determination of a project’s eligibility, and projects are reviewed periodically throughout the year by the LCBP.

The goal of the Lake Champlain Watershed Environmental Assistance Program is to provide assistance with planning, designing and implementation of projects that protect and enhance water quality, water supply, ecosystem integrity, and other water related issues within the watershed. Any municipal entity, state or interstate agency, Native American nation, or qualifying non-profit organization within the Lake Champlain Watershed is eligible. The emphasis of the Invitation for Letters of Request is on water quality protection for projects too large to be funded at the local municipal or state level. » Continue Reading.


Monday, May 1, 2017

Conservancy Supports Adirondack Land Trust with Grant

The Nature Conservancy is making a grant to the Adirondack Land Trust (ALT) to provide $498,000 in funding to increase ALT’s capacity and scope of operations.

For over 25 years, The Nature Conservancy and ALT have worked closely together on land conservation projects in the Adirondacks, with the Conservancy providing staffing services to ALT. This grant represents a new phase in their partnership while helping to expand and diversify conservation capacity in the Adirondacks. The funding will strengthen ALT’s work as it establishes a new office and builds staff capacity. » Continue Reading.


Monday, April 24, 2017

Mirror Lake Water Quality Report Issued

mirror lakeThe Ausable River Association (AsRA) in partnership with Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) have released the Mirror Lake 2016 Water Quality Report. Over the last two years AsRA has worked with AWI to collect baseline information on the lake. They compiled this information, along with historical water quality data dating back to 1971.

Mirror Lake has been enrolled in a variety of water quality monitoring programs over the past 45 years. These range from citizen volunteer water quality monitoring programs to studies conducted by a variety of contractors and researchers. The purpose of this report is to summarize all the available water quality data on Mirror Lake to develop a comprehensive understanding of the current state of the lake. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, April 22, 2017

Home Owners Encouraged to Practice Sustainable Lawn Care

To protect water quality this spring, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is urging New Yorkers to practice sustainable lawn care by going phosphorus free, using native plants and grasses, and reducing fertilizer use. DEC has launched the “Look for the Zero” campaign to encourage New Yorkers to purchase phosphorus-free lawn fertilizer, as more than 100 water bodies in New York State cannot be used or enjoyed as a result of too much phosphorus.

New York’s nutrient runoff law prohibits the use of phosphorus lawn fertilizers unless a new lawn is being established or a soil test shows that the lawn does not have enough phosphorus. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, April 20, 2017

Emerging Concerns Over Banded Mystery Snails

Banded Mystery SnailThe warming temperatures and receding ice are giving way to open water and increased recreational activities. It is time once again to think about aquatic invasive species. An emerging threat to our fish populations and bird populations is the Banded Mystery Snail.

The Banded Mystery Snail (Viviparus georgianus) a non-native species to the Adirondacks was introduced in 1867 into the Hudson River. It is historically native to Florida and Georgia among other southeastern states. It has been found in many bodies of water located within New York, including Lake Champlain and Lake George. The public, officials and scientists have not taken much note of this non-native species believing that any environmental impacts would be negligible. Current data is showcasing a different picture and further research is needed. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, April 20, 2017

New Analysis: Freshwater Lakes Getting Saltier

lake mononaNorth America’s freshwater lakes are getting saltier due to development and exposure to road salt. A study of 371 lakes published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that many Midwestern and Northeastern lakes are experiencing increasing chloride trends, with some 44% of lakes sampled in these regions undergoing long-term salinization.

The study is the first large-scale analysis of chloride trends in freshwater lakes. It was conducted by a team of fifteen researchers as part of the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) Fellowship Program, an initiative that seeks to train the next generation of freshwater scientists and practitioners. » Continue Reading.


Monday, April 17, 2017

Grant Funding For Mohawk River Watershed Projects

Mohawk River Watershed and Adirondack Park The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that approximately $200,000 in grant funding is available to municipalities and not-for-profit organizations to implement the Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda. The funding is provided by the state’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and administered under DEC’s Mohawk River Watershed Grants Program.

To be eligible for this funding opportunity, proposed projects must be located within the Mohawk River watershed (which includes portions of the Adirondack Park in the towns of Russia, Norway, Salisbury, Stratford, Caroga, Bleecker, Arietta, Morehouse and Ohio), as well as further the objectives of the Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, April 4, 2017

DEC Seeks Volunteers to Monitor Streams and Rivers

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is recruiting volunteers for the 2017 summer sampling season to conduct water quality assessments in nearby streams and rivers as part of the Water Assessments by Volunteer Evaluators (WAVE) project.

WAVE data are used to augment the work of DEC’s Stream Biomonitoring Unit, which samples streams and rivers across the state to create an inventory of stream water quality. Volunteer monitors provide valuable information to assist in identifying healthy streams and flagging streams with potential water quality concerns. These data are included in federal and state water quality reports and help to target professional assessments and local restoration or conservation efforts where they are most needed. » Continue Reading.



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