WATER QUALITY UPDATE
For Friday, September 24, 2021
Reports so far this week (Week of Monday, September 20 - Sunday, September 26):
• 18 surveys performed
• 2 Suspicious Blooms
Welcome to the 13th edition of your Friday Water Quality Update! These updates are crafted in partnership with CLWA and the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council (intermunicipal watershed organization consisting of the fourteen watershed and water purveying municipalities).
Update on HABS Season Thus Far
We are in the final weeks of the Volunteer Shoreline Harmful Algae Bloom Monitoring Program, with the last official reporting date on Sunday, October 3rd for our routine weekly monitoring. All eyes won’t be off the lake, however, as many will continue to provide reports and assessments even after the program has ended - which is a huge testament to the dedication of our CLWA volunteers! In addition, our partners at the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council will be continuing with their monthly sampling program in partnership with FLCC, as well as their HABs surveillance and sampling at both shoreline and open water locations.
All in all, so far this season has been “milder” in terms of HABs reports as compared to 2020. Even with the addition of 29 volunteers to the program this year (more eyes out there actively looking for and reporting blooms), we have had fewer bloom reports.
Of the samples that have been collected and sent for analysis at the Finger Lakes Institute, so far we have not seen the high values that we have in year’s past of CyanoChlophyll (measurement of blue green algae). We had a few blooms this summer with high values - our highest to date being a bloom reported on July 1st on the west side of the lake (adjacent to the City of Canandaigua Water Treatment Plant) with a blue green algae value of 266.8 micrograms per liter (ug/L). As a reminder, DEC threshold for a confirmed bloom is 25 ug/L. In 2020, we saw some sample values spike to 1,400 ug/L and 2,500 ug/L at the highest!
While this year’s observations are interesting to compare to 2020, we have learned that the HABs situation is uniquely different each year and can be influenced by a variety of factors, including weather and wind speed. Following the activity of our neighboring Finger Lakes, other lakes such as Skaneateles and Owasco have had fairly active bloom seasons. At this point, we do not have scientific reasoning to share as to why some lakes have active HABs seasons and others do not - which is why documenting the occurrence and severity of blooms has become an important activity for many lake associations. As we collect information to share with community members, documenting HABs trends and learning more about the contributing factors to HABs formation is helping the scientific community to better understand the regional shift of increased frequency and severity of bloom events in recent years.
As the program comes to a close in October, we will look to put together a year end summary of our findings to share with the watershed community.
Current Water Quality Status
On to the current status of the lake. We had 2 bloom reports come in yesterday from the east side of the lake in Rushville around the Long’s Point area. A sample was collected and brought to the Finger Lakes Institute in Geneva this morning (9/24), and although results were elevated (18.8 ug/L of blue green algae), they were below the DEC bloom threshold.
Other areas of the lake have been reporting clear conditions. Today’s 15-20 mph winds do not provide the ideal calm conditions for the formation of blooms.
Last Sunday (9/19) was a very calm sunny day, and was our most active day for bloom reports thus far, with 9 HAB reports filed by volunteers. Surface streaking of algae was reported out in the open water in the morning hours, and a sample collected by a volunteer in a dense streak showed results of 123.52 ug/L blue green algae. Additional samples were collected in the open water from areas that were not experiencing such heavy streaking, and those results came back well below the bloom threshold. This reinforces the concept that when areas of surface streaking are observed, they should be avoided.
As September comes to a close, please remember that there is still the potential for isolated blooms to appear, especially when conditions are just right - calm, sunny weather. Please continue to use your visual indicators and look for signs of a HAB before swimming or letting pets into the lake.
The six Canandaigua Lake water purveyors (the City of Canandaigua, the Village of Newark, the Village of Palmyra, the Village of Rushville, the Town of Gorham, and Bristol Harbour) continue their routine testing of both raw (untreated) and finished (treated) drinking water for microcystin (the toxin that may be produced by cyanobacteria / blue green algae). All results to date have come back as non detects. Results are uploaded weekly on the CLWA website.
As always, we encourage you to follow our reports on our website, and on the facebook page. If you have a question on a suspected bloom, please feel free to send in a photograph to HABs@canandaigualakeassoc.org.
WATER QUALITY UPDATE For Friday, September 17, 2021
So far this week:
33 surveys performed
2 Confirmed Blooms (occurred on September 13th, September 14th)
Welcome to the 12th edition of your Friday Water Quality Update! These updates are crafted in partnership with CLWA and the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council (intermunicipal watershed organization consisting of the fourteen watershed and water purveying municipalities). Current Lake Conditions Overall, water quality conditions remain pretty good for this time of year, with no blooms reported today. Secchi disk readings that have come through this week have ranged from 5.5 - 6.9 meters of clarity. Surveys performed today have shown clear water conditions and the vast majority of the lake remains clear of concentrations of algae. We did have a few isolated blooms pop up earlier this week. Volunteers collected samples on Monday, September 13 and Tuesday, September 14 from areas on the east side of the lake where suspicious reports came in - one in the Crystal Beach area, and another about 500 ft offshore from Pelican Point. The two samples were brought to the Finger Lakes Institute in Geneva for analysis on the fluoroprobe - instrumentation that measures levels of blue green chlorophyll. Both samples came back above the DEC’s threshold for confirmed bloom status (25 micrograms per liter of blue green chlorophyll). Samples results are as follows:
We have not had confirmed blooms since these two reports earlier in the week. September still has the potential for isolated blooms to appear, especially when conditions are just right - mainly calm, sunny weather. The results above remind us that these isolated areas may have the potential for reaching blue green algae concentrations above the bloom threshold. Please continue to use your visual indicators and look for signs of a HAB before swimming or letting pets into the lake. The six Canandaigua Lake water purveyors (the City of Canandaigua, the Village of Newark, the Village of Palmyra, the Village of Rushville, the Town of Gorham, and Bristol Harbour) continue their routine testing of both raw (untreated) and finished (treated) drinking water for microcystin (the toxin that may be produced by cyanobacteria / blue green algae). All results to date have come back as non-detects. Results are uploaded weekly on the CLWA website. Volunteers and watershed staff will be continuing daily observations throughout September and we will communicate any significant changes in bloom activity through our weekly email updates, on our website, and on our facebook page. If you have a question on a suspected bloom, please feel free to send in a photograph to HABs@canandaigualakeassoc.org. Enjoy the weekend everyone!
WATER QUALITY UPDATE For Friday, September 10, 2021
So far this week:
27 surveys performed
No Blooms Reported
Welcome to the 11th edition of your Friday Water Quality Update! These updates are drafted in partnership with CLWA and the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council (intermunicipal watershed organization consisting of the fourteen watershed and water purveying municipalities). Current Lake Conditions We are happy to report that for the second week in a row, no blooms have been observed by volunteers or watershed staff. We did have two suspicious reports come in last weekend, but upon further investigation of the photos, it was determined that both reports were of watermeal / duckweed and were not harmful. Secchi disk volunteers are reporting water clarity readings in the 4.8 - 6.9 meter range so far this week, with an average of 5.86 meters of clarity. We have been holding in this 5-6 meter range for the last 2 weeks. Secchi disk readings are very important this time of year - if we begin to see a sharp drop in readings (down to the 3-4 meter range), that may indicate an increase in algal productivity and signify an upcoming bloom event. We thank the ongoing efforts of our secchi disk volunteers for providing these helpful reports! The six Canandaigua Lake water purveyors (the City of Canandaigua, the Village of Newark, the Village of Palmyra, the Village of Rushville, the Town of Gorham, and Bristol Harbour) continue their routine testing of both raw (untreated) and finished (treated) drinking water for microcystin (the toxin that may be produced by cyanobacteria / blue green algae). All results to date have come back as non detects. Results are uploaded weekly on the CLWA website. Overall, the water quality observations made this week are quite promising. However, it is important to remember that conditions can change quickly on the lake. Typically, we have seen our most significant bloom events in the early to mid-September timeframe. Please continue to use your visual indicators and look for signs of a HAB before swimming or letting pets into the lake. Blooms may appear as discolored water, surface streaking of blue green algae (cyanobacteria) or pea soup conditions. Volunteers and watershed staff will be continuing daily observations throughout September and we will communicate any significant changes in bloom activity through our weekly email updates, on our website, and on our facebook page. If you have a question on a suspected bloom, please feel free to send in a photograph to HABs@canandaigualakeassoc.org.
