By Kate Hill

Staff Writer

On July 8, a yellow buoy was installed in the middle of the Cazenovia Lake.

According to a Cazenovia Lake Association (CLA) e-newsletter, the buoy is a result of a partnership between the CLA and SUNY ESF, which has selected Cazenovia Lake as the subject of a number of research projects related to water quality and algae formation.

The buoy is designed to take continuous measurements of the water temperature from the lake’s surface all the way down to the bottom.

The newsletter explains that the measurements are taken by a string of tiny “thermometers” that sit underneath the buoy, which is kept in place by an anchor at the bottom.

To help ensure that the buoy remains in place and undamaged, the CLA is requesting that boaters do not moor their boats to the float.

According to CLA President David Miller, the buoy was positioned in the deepest part of the lake, which provides the best overall picture of how the lake temperature changes throughout the season.

The data is continuously recorded and will be uploaded at the end of the year to produce a day-by-day temperature profile that can be analyzed. This data, in combination with additional measurements that will be taken this summer, will aid in the research ESF is performing.

Spearheading the study is Dr. Greg Boyer, chemistry professor at SUNY ESF and director for the Great Lakes Research Consortium.

Boyer is a leading researcher in the area of toxic cyanobacteria. His work is focused on developing and integrating alert systems to monitor and detect toxic cyanobacteria blooms in the lower Great Lakes.

“He has been involved with an industry-based partnership to develop near-real-time water quality monitoring systems,” Miller said. “The objectives of this program focus on the design, fabrication and testing of biosensors for drinking water protection. It is envisioned that the collaboration with local firms will provide the basis for new economic growth in the CNY region.”

According to Miller, Boyer proposed the idea of partnering with the CLA at the 2019 Lake Summit, during which he delivered the keynote speech.

“At the end of the meeting we had a discussion about him using Cazenovia Lake for his research projects,” Miller said. “Dr. Boyer thought that the type, size and location of Caz Lake was ideal for the research. Also, having a lake association, town and village very involved with the lake is helpful to him.”

Miller said he is hopeful that the partnership will enable Cazenovia to eventually have a system in place that would provide a “pre-warning” of a potential harmful algal bloom (HAB). Such a warning would allow for appropriate action to be taken to prevent the bloom from occurring.

According to Miller, preventing HABs is particularly important for the public beach at Lake Land Park, and the beaches at the north end of the lake and Willow Bank Yacht Club.

This summer, Boyer’s PhD students will also be conducting research on runoff into the lake.

“As part of this, ESF will be driving a boat around the lake a number of times this summer in order to collect data, such as phosphorous levels, soaps, etc. that are running into the lake,” Miller said.

The data will be used to create a map of the entire shoreline showing the levels of the measured contaminants.

The maps will then be used to pinpoint “hot spots” and determine potential solutions for the runoff problems in those areas.

Miller said he believes that Boyer’s knowledge of water quality will be very beneficial to the CLA as it begins performing water sampling programs, sediment sampling programs and sediment runoff control programs.

“A strong working relationship will help us make the right decisions for implementing these programs correctly,” he said.

To learn more about the CLA, visit cazlake.org.