To the editor:
With the heavy rain last week, I knew it was happening again. It was! The canal which enters Cazenovia Lake between Lakeland Park and The Cazenovia Club was pouring a toxic, brown colored slurry into Cazenovia Lake. This is a common occurrence following a heavy rain, and is not unique to the remarkable rainfall last week.
The canal is not a naturally occurring feature. It was constructed to feed water to the Erie Canal. The canal is owned by New York state which manages the dams on the canal. The canal was designed to let water from Cazenovia Lake flow into Chittenango Creek. When the level of Chittenango Creek rises from heavy rains, water from the canal flows from the creek into the lake.
When Chittenango Creek is at flood stage and flows into the lake, it contains massive run off from the animal and plant farms to the south. The water is filled with silt, brown in color, and has a noxious smell suggestive of animal waste. To my knowledge, a chemical and biological analysis of the water flowing into the lake through the canal has never been done. It is a good bet that the water is polluted with coliform bacteria and loaded with nitrogen, phosphorous and other plant and algae promoting agents. It may also contain agricultural chemicals used by the farms bordering the creek.
The outflow of this toxic slurry enters Cazenovia Lake right next to the swimming area at Lakeland Park and can be expected to pose a significant health hazard. Following the flood flow, the water in the lake is turbid and filled with particulate matter — even on the opposite side of the lake three-quarters of a mile from the canal, the water is visibly affected.
Over the 20 years I have lived in Cazenovia, I have seen the canal flow into Cazenovia Lake on many occasions — frequently the flow into the lake lasts several days and occurs several times a year. It is reasonable to believe that this flow has been the major cause of the huge amounts of silt deposited on the lake floor throughout the southern portion of the lake. The nutrient load of the flow increases plant (Milfoil) and algae growth and decreases water quality.
What can be done? What should be done? New York state owns the canal through which this toxic slurry flows. The state controls the dam height on the canal which can prevent, or lessen, this toxic flow. As New York state caused this problem, the state should fix the problem by dredging the silt off the lake bottom deposited by the canal. Furthermore, the state should take action to correct this longstanding problem: e.g. better control of the dam height, modification of the dams.
Water samples from Chittenago Creek at flood stage and from the canal should be analyzed to ascertain what it contains when the canal water is flowing into Cazenovia Lake. Close attention by the village and town should be paid to when the canal is flowing into Cazenovia Lake causing the village and town to consider whether swimming in the lake is safe.
The Town of Cazenovia, The Village of Cazenovia, The Cazenovia Lake Association, The Cazenovia Lake Foundation, and the citizens of Cazenovia, all have essential interests in addressing and correcting this problem.
Richard Kavey
Cazenovia
