By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
This fall, the Cazenovia Lake Association (CLA) conducted a lake drive-around to drop off cards updating residents on a few ongoing water quality and ecology initiatives.
The “quick dockside dispatch” informed residents of the following CLA projects:
Developing runoff strategies to help reduce silt and nutrient flow into the lake.
Sampling sediment and water quality three times per year in three locations to ensure long-term lake health.
Monitoring Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) through new technologies and communication protocols.
Partnering with SUNY ESF to install cutting-edge HAB identification/prediction technology.
Assisting Lakeland Beach and Willow Bank Yacht Club with water quality.
The CLA is a non-profit volunteer organization made up of residents, homeowners, business owners, and elected officials who strive to protect the environmental and recreational sustainability of Cazenovia Lake. The organization frequently partners with a number of local stakeholders, including businesses, town and village boards, SUNY ESF, Cazenovia College, and Cazenovia High School.
“Our mission is to protect the environment of Cazenovia Lake and its watershed, including the quality of the air and water . . .” said CLA President Dave Miller. “This [requires] us as an organization to be continually educated on new technologies to help keep the lake healthy and usable, [and to be] pro-active to investigate and solve problems as they arise.”
According to Miller, community support and engagement are critical to furthering the CLA’s mission.
“[Like most NYS lakes,] Caz Lake is state owned,” Miller said. “However, it greatly impacts the quality of life for people who live in Cazenovia. We therefore take great pride and ownership of the lake’s health. With that said there are numerous problems that we are trying to solve, including rapid aging of the lake, milfoil control, sediment buildup, and harmful algae blooms. We therefore need people’s support from an idea standpoint of how to solve these problems, as well as their financial support to implement solutions . . .”
During the fall drive-around, the CLA received a number of questions from community members regarding the health and maintenance of the lake.
The organization addressed several of the most common question topics in its Oct. 25 e-newsletter.
Weed harvesting
The weed harvester on Cazenovia Lake is owned, operated and funded exclusively by the town.
The harvester follows a GPS-controlled, pre-defined path throughout the lake based on the highest concentrations of Eurasian watermilfoil. Certain areas, such as the northernmost corner in the northwest bay, are not accessible due to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) restrictions and wetlands.
The harvester also avoids very shallow waters to avoid scraping the bottom and damaging the ecosystem.
According to the newsletter, the north end of the lake is weedy due to the fact that it is shallow and has a very soft bottom.
“The shallowness allows light to penetrate to the bottom and the soft bottom holds nutrients,” the CLA wrote. “Both of these combine to spur weed growth. Many, many years ago the north end was much smaller and swampy. The Canal Corp. put two dams in Chittenango Creek to control water flow for the canal system, which made the north end larger and deeper. Therefore, when this area became larger/flooded, its formation was on very fertile soil full of nutrients and a soft silty bottom, which is perfect for weed growth.”
Dredging to reduce weeds
According to the CLA, the lake cannot be dredged for the following reasons:
Like clear-cutting a forest, dredging completely alters the ecosystem.
The DEC would not permit it.
The process would cost millions of dollars.
It would not guarantee milfoil eradication.
Cazenovia Lake versus other area lakes
The newsletter states that while weeds are common along the shores of many lakes, they are less frequent in lakes with steep drop-offs into deep water (more the 15 ft.) or rocky bottoms.
Due to a lack of light, weeds are typically less productive in depths exceeding 20 feet.
“This is why once you get away from the shoreline into the deeper parts of the lake there are not tall plants/milfoil — just some small grasses on the bottom,” the newsletter explained. “The downside of these deep lakes is that they tend to stay very cold. So if we had that type of lake people may actually like it less because the water temps would be in the 60s. So shallow, warm lakes (Caz) tend to have more weeds while deep, cold lakes (Skaneateles) tend to have [fewer] weeds. However, Skaneateles does have milfoil in certain shallow sections that they are dealing with.”
Decreasing the goose population
The CLA acknowledged the concerns associated with the birds — each of which is estimated to produce up to two pounds of fertilizer per day — but made clear that the organization does not have plans to reduce the numbers.
According to the newsletter, culling the population would likely require DEC approval and professional services.
“One issue is that the geese use the lake for their migration paths in spring and fall,” the CLA said. “We are also not certain how people would feel about such a program.”
The CLA is welcoming new members and seeking financial donations to promote its efforts to conserve and improve the lake.
To donate or sign up to receive updates on the lake, visit cazlake.org.
CLA meetings are open to the public. For more information, email [email protected].
