From the desk of CSI Executive Director, Grascen Shidemantle, PhD.
- To visit this article on the Ithaca Times website, visit: 8/15/24: Guest Opinion: Correcting the Record on Cayuga Lake Pollution
- To read the 8/8/24 article on the Ithaca Times website, visit: 8/8/24: Guest Opinion: Pollution of Inlet and Cayuga Lake
On August 8th, 2024, the Ithaca Times published a guest opinion article concerning pollution of the Cayuga Inlet and Cayuga Lake. The author of this piece is clearly a passionate steward and fierce advocate for our shared water resources. I commend the writer for their care and concern for our beautiful Cayuga Lake and its tributaries, particularly the time they have spent picking trash out of these waterways. As your neighbor, I thank you for this effort.
However, I would like to correct some false information that was presented in the article regarding water quality monitoring in the Cayuga Inlet, Cayuga Lake, and surrounding watershed. The author claimed that “There is no testing of the water in the Inlet and there never has been”. And that “no one is testing for E.coli [in Cayuga Lake]”. Below I highlight important work being done to monitor water quality in the Cayuga Lake watershed to counter this misinformation.
I am proud to be the executive director of Community Science Institute (CSI), an Ithaca-based non-profit organization and New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) state-certified water testing lab. Since 2002, CSI has partnered with hundreds of trained volunteers to monitor water quality in the Cayuga Lake watershed. Because we analyze water samples in a state-certified lab and follow a quality assurance project plan (QAPP) that adheres to EPA guidelines, the water quality data collected through our Synoptic Sampling Program is considered regulatory quality.
This means that the data can be used with confidence for management purposes. CSI volunteers in our Synoptic Sampling Program monitor their designated streams (including Cayuga Inlet) and shoreline approximately three times each year for the following water quality indicators: E.coli, nutrients (total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, nitrate-+-nitrite-nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen), chloride, specific conductance, total suspended solids, turbidity, pH, total hardness, and alkalinity. Data collected by CSI volunteers is critical for understanding the health of Cayuga Lake and its tributaries. Our data are used by local governments, scientific researchers, and more. You can read more about the impact of CSI’s data on our website.
We believe all people have the right to understand the health and safety of their local water bodies. That is why we publish the data collected through our monitoring programs on our public online database. On our Streams and Lakes Chemistry database, users can explore trends in water quality across space and time using interactive graphs and maps. The raw data can also be downloaded into spreadsheets for those who prefer to do their own data exploration and analysis. In addition to our Streams and Lakes Chemistry database, we also have a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Database, where cyanobacteria blooms reported and sampled by CSI volunteers (our “HAB Harriers”) are posted in near-real time. For more information about our Cayuga Lake HAB monitoring program, please visit our website. Finally, CSI also provides data regarding the ecological health of our streams thanks to our biomonitoring program for benthic macroinvertebrates. More information on the biomonitoring program including monitoring results can be found on our website.
When it comes to the Cayuga Inlet specifically, CSI has an incredibly dedicated team of volunteers who have been monitoring this waterbody and its tributaries including Buttermilk Creek, Enfield Creek, and Cascadilla Creek since 2007. Note that a separate, but equally dedicated volunteer group monitors Six Mile Creek, which is also a tributary of Cayuga Inlet. The data collected by our Cayuga Inlet volunteers can be accessed on this page of our database. I encourage anyone who is interested in the water quality on the Inlet and its tributaries to explore these data.
CSI volunteers are also monitoring the shoreline of Cayuga Lake, specifically for E.coli. On the west shore, CSI collaborates with the West Shore Neighborhood Association to collect approximately 15 samples for monthly E.coli testing from May – September. On the east shore, volunteers on our Salmon Creek monitoring team stop by Myers Park, Salt Point, and the surrounding area to collect water samples from the shoreline three times each year.
CSI performs in-lake monitoring as well. Through our Journey of Water series for kids, CSI collaborates with Discover Cayuga Lake (DCL) to take youth and their families out onto the lake to collect water samples. Samples are collected at locations such as the outfall of wastewater treatment facilities and the lake source cooling facility. Samples are taken as far north as Myers point. These Water Quality Monitoring Cruises take place three times each year. The data collected during these cruises can be accessed here. Not only is this a critical piece of data collection, it is also a wonderful opportunity to engage kids in the science of water quality monitoring in the hopes that we may inspire a future generation of water stewards.
When it comes to water quality monitoring in our beloved swimming areas, CSI is doing the work there too. CSI is proud to partner with Finger Lakes State Parks to perform weekly E.coli testing for swimming areas during the parks’ swimming season. Every Monday, park employees drive to CSI’s lab in Ithaca to deliver samples for testing. We provide the parks with next day results. If a swimming area tests above 235 colonies/100 mL (NYSDOH Contact Recreation Limit), the park must close the swimming area. The swimming area cannot reopen until the E.coli levels have dropped below the contact recreation limit. NYS Parks has a useful map where park visitors can see which swimming areas are open or closed and also view the results of their weekly E.coli test.
In addition to the work being done by CSI and our volunteers, there are several other organizations monitoring water quality in Cayuga Lake. Our partners at the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network (CLWN) and Discover Cayuga Lake (DCL) participate in the Citizen Statewide Lake Assessment Program (CSLAP). CSLAP is a volunteer lake monitoring and education program that is managed by NYSDEC and the NYS Federation of Lake Associations (NYSFOLA). CSLAP monitoring in Cayuga Lake started in 2002 and is essential for understanding the health of our lake and appropriate actions to protect it. The data is critical information used in the DEC’s 2018 Finger Lakes Water Quality Report, which is currently being updated with new data through 2023. CLWN currently sponsors four sites and recruits CSLAP volunteers for Cayuga Lake. CSLAP volunteers are trained by NYSFOLA to collect water quality data and samples twice a month from June through September. The current sampling sites include the far north end, two mid-lake points, and the southern shelf of Cayuga Lake. The south shelf site near Ithaca is monitored by DCL from their familiar community tour boat, the M.V. Teal. Over twelve water quality parameters are collected from surface water at all sites as well as at depth at the mid-lake sites. You can learn more about CSLAP and find data reports at the NYSFOLA webpage.
Finally, in addition to managing CSLAP, NYSDEC engages in routine monitoring through the Rotating Integrated Basin Studies (RIBS) program and the Water Assessments by Volunteer Evaluators (WAVE) program. For more information on NYSDEC’s monitoring programs, I encourage readers to visit the NYSDEC webpage on water quality monitoring.
In summary, it is not true that “there is no testing of the water in the Inlet and there never has been”. It is not true that “no one is testing for E.coli [in Cayuga Lake]”. Hundreds of volunteers with CSI, CLWN, and DCL have worked diligently for years to collect these data, often braving difficult conditions and sacrificing their free time to do so. There are over 85,000 Cayuga Lake watershed water quality data items from 2002 – present available on CSI’s Streams and Lakes Database. I highly encourage anyone who is curious about water quality on Cayuga Lake and its tributaries to visit CSI’s database to explore the data for themselves. Through CSI’s database and the other resources shared in this article, residents and visitors to the Cayuga Lake watershed can feel empowered to make informed decisions about the safety of recreation in these waterbodies.
For those concerned about litter across our watershed, CLWN hosts a litter clean-up program called “Embrace the Lake!”. This year, CLWN partnered with 12 organizations and volunteer groups who worked to cleanup our local waterways, keeping literal tons of garbage out of our streams and lakes. Highlights include over 60 volunteers who collected 1,800 pounds of trash from their roadsides and drainage ditches for Newfield Greenup Day, and 13 volunteers removed 700 pounds of trash from the Finger Lakes Land Trust new Etna Preserve along Fall Creek. To organize a clean-up, contact programs@cayugalake.org. CLWN will help you promote your event, and can provide clean-up materials, such as trash bags, gloves, trash grabbers, and more.
The Clean Water Act calls for citizen involvement in water quality issues. I encourage all readers who are passionate about our shared water resources to engage with Community Science Institute and our partner organizations such as Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and Discover Cayuga Lake. Volunteer with us, become a member of our organizations, subscribe to our email lists, use our outreach and education materials, and tell your friends and family about these organizations doing important work to monitor and protect water quality. Another great way to get involved is to see if your municipality or county has a committee dedicated to water quality or water resource protection. I am inspired by the work that local governments and agencies such as Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District are doing to protect water quality.
As I wrap up this article, I want to thank and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the volunteers who have made this data collection possible. I am grateful to be a part of a community that cares so deeply about our unique freshwater resources in the Finger Lakes region.
