Watershed Management Plans

The Canandaigua Lake Watershed Management Plan was developed by the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council and builds on the knowledge gained and projects completed to develop comprehensive strategy to protect Canandaigua Lake and its surrounding watershed from existing and emerging threats.

The 2014 Watershed Plan makes the protection and restoration of critical areas a major area of focus utilizing a wide array of strategies. Some examples of these critical areas include: wetlands, shorelines, streamside/roadbank buffer areas, floodplains, forested areas and other areas that filter and reduce stormwater runoff. Protecting and restoring these critical areas provides substantial beneficial services to individuals and the overall community within and beyond the watershed boundaries.

Amending the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Plan to Meet New Challenges and Requirements: The 9 Element Plan 

The watershed management plan has played an important role in guiding management efforts by documenting lake and watershed conditions, identifying on-going and new risks to the lake, and prioritizing actions. To stay grant competitive and to address new concerns to the lake, in 2023 the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council, along with its partners, completed the Nine Element Plan for Phosphorous Reduction. Please view the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council website for full details on the process and plan development.

The Canandaigua Lake 9 Element Plan can be downloaded from the NYS DEC website:

What are the 9 Elements?

A) Identify and quantify sources of pollution in watershed

B) Identify water quality target or goal and pollutant reductions needed to achieve goal

C) Identify the best management practices (BMPs) that will help to achieve reductions needed to meet water quality goal/target

D) Describe the financial and technical assistance needed to implement BMPs identified in Element C

E) Describe the outreach to stakeholders and how their input was incorporated and the role of stakeholders to implement the plan

F) Estimate a schedule to implement BMPs identified in plan

G) Describe the milestones and estimated time frames for the implementation of BMPs implemented

H) Identify the criteria that will be used to assess water quality improvement as the plan is

I) Describe the monitoring plan that will collect water quality data need to measure water quality improvement (criteria identified in Element H)

For more information on 9 Element Plans:

• See this factsheet from NYS DEC – https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/water_pdf/9efaq17.pdf

• Visit the NYS DEC 9E Plan website – https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/103264.html