Locals start conversation about algal blooms in Lansing

Every year, boaters and swimmers across New York state flock to the waters of the 11 Finger Lakes — a sign that the long, grueling winter is over and summer is here. With the warming temperatures come warnings and closures of beaches because of a unwelcome guest to the lakes’ water supply: harmful algal blooms (HABs).

The blooms occur when a mix of phosphorus and nitrogen cause colonies of algae to grow out of control. HABs can shut down swimming and even impact drinking water supply in the towns surrounding the lakes.

Sustainable Finger Lakes (SFL) is targeting Lansing and Cayuga Lake as an area where resident action can fight the blooms. Today at noon, SFL will host a webinar focused on educating the public about what the blooms are, what causes them and what residents can do to stop them. Learn more and register at tinyurl.com/25h7ma8p.

“We have been doing a stellar job of monitoring the problem on different lakes, but we haven’t been too willing to talk about how land use practices are creating the problem,” SFL President Gay Nicholson said. “We want to get a public discussion going on how we change those practices, fund the repair systems that are necessary, so that’s what we’re going to be exploring in the webinar.”

The webinar is set to last one hour and will feature talks from SFL Chairperson Jessica Swindon; Brett Chedzoy, senior resource educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension Schuyler County; Andrew Zepp, executive director of Finger Lakes Land Trust; and Hilary Lambert, former steward of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network.

Swindon will give an overview of the factors involved in the increase of the blooms in Cayuga Lake. Chedzoy will speak about how different agricultural practices, such as rotational grazing and silvopasture, can help keep harmful nutrients out of the water.

Zepp will speak about plumbing and revegetation in riparian zones. Riparian zones refer to the ecosystems that surround lakes, creeks and rivers. Lambert was involved in monitoring the increased threat of the blooms and will speak about how different groups across the country have fought this problem.

Those who miss the webinar can find it archived on Sustainable Finger Lakes’ YouTube page (tinyurl.com/296vqsm4), along with and other webinars the group has hosted.

Nicholson has been a Lansing resident for 42 years and knows that improvements to the water quality in Cayuga Lake won’t be easy — or cheap. Still, she believes the problem is important enough to invest considerable public funding in solving it.

She said a common misconception is that the rise of phosphorus and nitrogen in the lake is because of outdated septic systems used by many who have lakeside cottages in Lansing. In fact, a recent study by Cornell University found that only 7% of the excess phosphorus in the Cayuga Lake watershed could be tied to septic tanks. Nearly 80%, however, was tied to agricultural land-use techniques.

Nicholson said that when farmers in Lansing get rid of their waste, a lot consists of phosphorus from either fertilizer or manure, which has high amounts of nitrogen. That waste is finding its way into public drains in Lansing, which go right to the lake.

She said that worldwide climate change also has an impact, as rising temperatures, hard rain and windless days on the lake are accelerating the problem.

“If we didn’t have climate change, then maybe these excess nutrients running off the land would not be causing such high amounts of harmful algal blooms, but in combination with warming waters and longer periods of warm, stagnant water, we have a lot of factors,” Nicholson said. “We don’t have immediate control over how hot it’s going to be over the next century or so, but what we can control is how much phosphorus and nitrogen ends up in the lake to power these blooms.”

Nicholson said she thinks the current tile system of drainage doesn’t do much to filter the harmful chemicals out of agricultural runoff. She suggested that farmers use a portion of their land to set up retention basins.

This would keep harmful water from going into the lake and could replenish aquifers around the lake, which Nicholson said have been depleted.

Still, Nicholson knows that getting farmers on board with the plan won’t be easy. She is hoping the webinar serves as an educational tool for the Lansing community about how important the issue is, even if it is expensive and inconvenient.

“I’m sure a lot of farmers don’t like that idea because they view the land for crop production,” she said. “This threatens the current economic model, which is in great trouble. Other businesses aren’t allowed to ruin other people’s health because it’s economic for them. We have to have a conversation about making ethical choices together.”

She also said farmers in Lansing who choose to implement different land use practices won’t be left alone. Grants are available at the state and local levels to help alleviate the costs of putting in new drainage systems and removing old ones.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County is also available to help farmers find and apply for appropriate grants (ccetompkins.org).

“The farmers don’t have the money right now to completely flip and do a 180, so we’re all going to have to pitch in and help that process, but we first have to admit that there’s a problem,” she said. “We’re not just saying ‘No, and now you’re on your own to do it differently’; we are offering a lot of taxpayer dollars, federal and state resources to pay for the improvements.”

The problem of HABs in Cayuga Lake isn’t new. Nicholson said SFL wanted to start the public conversation in the summer of 2020, but that got put on hold with the spread of COVID-19.

She said the problem also doesn’t affect just Cayuga Lake and Lansing. Seneca Lake, Owasco Lake and Skaneateles Lake have all had issues with HABs. The city of Auburn has had to completely change how it gets public drinking water because of the contamination of Owasco Lake.

Nicholson reiterated that the solutions to the problem of HABs might not be easy, but they are necessary. The blooms impact not only people’s drinking water but also lake tourism and recreational businesses.

“There are all alternatives that we could be alerting about,” she said. “I imagine some of the older dairy farmers aren’t interested in starting over. Maybe some of the younger ones have it in them.”

For more information about SFL, visit its website at sustainablefingerlakes.org.

To learn more about other efforts to combat HABs throughout the county, visit tinyurl.com/yg8zx7gy.

Lansing at Large appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.