Help Us Reach our HABs Fundraising Goal!

     In 2021, harmful blooms of cyanobacteria (HABs) were common on the shoreline of Cayuga Lake. So far this year, CSI has documented 75 HABs since July. These blooms have been dense and widespread, in some instances extending for miles along the shoreline! Cyanobacteria can produce toxins that are present in high concentrations during these blooms. These toxins may impair Cayuga Lake as a natural resource for recreation and drinking water, limiting our ability to enjoy our beautiful lake during the summer months. Fast and accurate information about when and where these blooms occur, and the concentration of toxin present in the blooms, is necessary to help alert lake-goers to blooms and help manage the risk these blooms present.

     The Cayuga Lake Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) Monitoring Program, led by the Community Science Institute, provides this necessary information. This summer, we have partnered with over 90 dedicated ‘HABs Harrier’ volunteers around Cayuga Lake who monitor sections of shoreline once per week during the summer months, collectively monitoring roughly 60% of Cayuga’s 105 mile shoreline! If they observe a bloom on their shoreline, these volunteers report the bloom and collect samples for analysis at CSI’s certified water testing lab in Ithaca. Blooms reported by volunteers are posted on our Cayuga Lake HABs Reporting Page in near real-time and the results of certified lab analyses, including the concentration of microcystin toxin, are updated within five days. Our Cayuga Lake HABs Reporting Page serves as a trusted and widely used resource for fast and accurate HABs information. In 2020 the page received over 40,000 views!