Water Quality Update for September 10, 2021
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.
