Lake Monitoring

LAKE MONITORING RECENT POSTS

January 16, 2024

Storm Event Water Quality Testing for E. coli in Streams Feeding Canandaigua Lake

September 6, 2023

Secchi Disk & Temperature at Depth Program Highlight with Joel Pasternack

CSLAP

The Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program (CSLAP) is a volunteer lake monitoring and education program that is managed by DEC and the New York State Federation of Lake Associations (NYSFOLA).

CSLAP HAS THREE MAJOR OBJECTIVES:

collect lake data for representative lakes throughout NYS
identify lake problems and changes in water quality
educate the public about lake conservation

CLWA joined CSLAP in 2017. Two sites are monitored on Canandaigua Lake each summer by volunteers, a northern sampling site (northeast off Tichenor Gully, 54 m depth) and a southern site (mid-lake off Willow Grove Point, 78 m depth). Samplers go out biweekly from June to the end of September for a total of eight sampling sessions at each site. Samples are collected from surface waters (epilimnion) and from deeper waters (hypolimnion). Parameters include water temperature, Secchi transparency, conductivity, pH, color, total phosphorus, nitrogen (total, NOx, ammonia), Chlorophyll a calcium, and chloride. Samples are also collected to determine the potential presence of harmful algal blooms. The data collected is used by the NYSDEC and our local lake groups to assess the current state of our lake, and also to compile trend data on the changes over time.

CLWA would like to thank our volunteers Dee and Bert Crofton, Steve Zumbo, and Marty Lasher for their commitment to this program and for all their efforts to help us gain additional knowledge about the water quality of Canandaigua Lake!

2023 CSLAP REPORT

Canandaigua Lake 2023 CSLAP Report
In 2023, the DEC changed the format of reports so assessment of both sites is included in one report.

E. COLI STREAM SAMPLING ON CANANDAIGUA LAKE

From 2020 to 2023 CLWA sampled various streams, mostly on the Canandaigua’s east side, for Escherichia coli (E. coli), after storm events. E. coli is a bacterium originating in the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals. It’s an “indicator” species, a bacteria looked for in water samples to determine if there is fecal contamination that could create a public health concern. While many species of E. coli do not pose a health risk to humans, some do and the presence of E. coli indicates the potential for contamination of other pathogenic organisms such as Salmonella, various viruses and/or protozoans which can cause illness in humans.

CLWA plans to continue sampling streams and lakeshore areas near where people are apt to swim after storm events to help determine the safety of recreation along the shore after storm events. While the timing of the elevated levels and the location of the streams in areas with few septic systems suggests the likely source is cow manure spread on farm fields, CLWA plans to run “eDNA” tests on some stream samples to determine how much of the contamination is cow manure, human waste or contamination from other wildlife species.

FLCC /CANANDAIGUA LAKE WATERSHED COUNCIL MONTHLY SAMPLING PROGRAM

To gain a thorough understanding of lake water quality, monitoring has been conducted of Canandaigua Lake since 1996 by researchers at Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) – for two decades by Dr. Bruce Gilman, and now by professor Patty Thompson. The lake sampling and monitoring program consists of monthly visits, April through November, to six locations within the lake (two mid-lake and four near shore sites). The two mid-lake stations are in the center of the lake off Deep Run and Seneca Point, and several water quality measures are recorded at each site.