State and local officials have finalized a plan to address the harmful algal blooms that have plagued Canandaigua Lake in recent years.
The community-led plan focuses heavily on reducing the amount of phosphorous that gets washed into the lake by streams and storms by 25 percent over the next decade. Phosphorous is a nutrient that occurs naturally but is also a major component of manure and fertilizers used by farmers, homeowners, and others. It fuels the cyanobacteria that form the harmful algal blooms.
“Canandaigua Lake does not have high levels of phosphorus,” said Tony Prestigiacomo, the supervisor of the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Finger Lakes Watershed Hub. “But given the challenges of managing these types of blooms with what is controllable, we feel that the controllable element is phosphorus inputs to the lake, so this plan helps us to organize activities to limit that.”
Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, can release toxins into the water that can sicken people and animals.
The plan recommends a series of voluntary actions to stem the flow of phosphorous into Canandaigua Lake. For example, it recommends farmers use cover crops —plants that help prevent erosion and bolster soil health — and comprehensive nutrient management practices to reduce the wash off.
“We found through the analysis that the largest contributor as a percentage to Canandaigua was agricultural land, either in row crops or pasture and hay,” Prestigiacomo said.
It also recommends using green infrastructure and vegetation buffers to filter stormwater, which can wash pollution from hard surfaces like parking lots into streams. And it calls for anti-erosion projects and preserving undeveloped land, among other things.
The report was shaped by community organizations and the Department of Environmental Conservation handled the technical work like developing models, Prestigiacomo said.
