As we dive into the first official week of summer, we’re excited to bring you the first of our weekly water quality updates. Every Friday, you can expect an email from us with the latest information on water quality conditions and other happenings in the Canandaigua Lake watershed.

Here’s how we’re kicking off the monitoring season:

• Secchi Disk Volunteers: Volunteers have out been monitoring water clarity and surface water temperatures for several weeks. This past week, we observed an average Secchi disk depth of 5.4 meters, which is a 1.4 meter decrease from the previous week’s average of 6.8 meters. The recent significant rain events likely contributed to this drop in clarity, causing an increase in water turbidity. You might have noticed the water’s off-color and floating debris following last week’s storms. Due to this, the Sheriff’s Marine Patrol had issued a lake advisory because of navigation hazards.
• Surface Water Temperature: Volunteers reported an average surface water temperature of 71.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
• CyanoHABs Monitoring Program: This summer’s CyanoHABs program will officially kick off on July 19th. Volunteers involved are invited to a “Meet and Greet” at the CLWA office on the afternoon of July 9th.
• Lake Sampling Program: The Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council and Finger Lakes Community College have started their monthly lake sampling program, which will continue through the fall. 
• Algal Monitoring Research Project: Six CLWA volunteers are continuing their weekly sampling and ioLight microscope work as part of our partnership with SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry.

On the afternoon of Thursday, June 20th, one of our longtime volunteers noticed a suspicious area in front of their breakwall on the west side of Canandaigua Lake that resembled a bloom. This occurred after two days of rain. The volunteer collected a sample, brought it to the CLWA office the next day, and we sent it to the Finger Lakes Institute for analysis. The results showed blue-green chlorophyll levels more than four times the DEC limit, confirming our first bloom of the season. Thankfully, the bloom dissipated quickly and no other bloom reports have been made since. Overall, lake conditions are looking good right now.

We hope you’re gearing up for a fantastic weekend and the upcoming 4th of July celebrations. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or to report suspicious bloom activity. You can email us at HABS@canandaigualakeassoc.org.