Hi everybody. This blog is being set up to give residents a chance to voice their feelings about development in the watershed, lake quality and boating issues.
There is alot going on lately regarding our lake and the water. I have wondered for the last couple of years why are the jet ski’s allowed on this lake seeing how it is a drinking water source? And why are properties that are less than a 1/4 of a mile from the water source itself allowed to have chicken feces dumped all over them??? I welcome any information on this subject as I certainly am not an expert just a concerned resident and water drinker.
The chicken manure - where is that being used? And is it by a landscaping company? These are the kinds of things that need to be looked into.
The jet skis dump do dump fuel into the lake - they’re banned elsewhere in the US. Why not here?
I think the most important thing that people need to realize is that Skaneateles Lake is an extremely unique body of water. Because of that, it needs to be treated differently to maintain its purity, or at least prevent it from degrading more than it already has.
The City of Syracuse doesn’t even consider the 150 seasonal watercourses that feed the lake to be watercourses. That’s in direct opposition to NY State Law, which defines a watercourse as a visible path that water flows through on a regular basis. Yet it goes on. Because of this, septic fields located closer than 100′ from a watercourse are approved by the OCHD. It’s unbelievable.
“Since 1990, New York State law clearly states that new septic system leach fields must be at least 100 feet from existing watercourses. The law goes on to define a watercourse as a “visible path through which water travels on a regular basis”. New York law also states that local health departments must not adopt standards less stringent than the State.”
Add in the chicken manure and fertilizer run-off, and it’s like death by 1000 cuts.
I’m glad to see someone else in the area is wondering why the jetski’s aren’t banned on this lake. I was pretty sure the way they operated that they dumped fuel.
Regarding the chicken feces. I know it is spread on the agriculture fields at the top of our road (1 mile or less from the lake). On any given rainy day the water rushing down through ditches is all you need to see to know that the run-off at the top of the hill will end up in the lake. I can’t recall if the feces is spread on the particular field that is REALLY close to the lake - less than 1/4 mile(I will know soon enough as we are going in to that time of year).
This is all such a concern - why isn’t there anything being done about it? We stopped drinking our own water over 10 years ago as it is pumped directly from the ground via well and we weren’t comfortable drinking it - seeing what we see on the land surrounding us.
Slightly off topic, but fascinating. The environmental impact of human activity on a global scale:
Navigating the Pacific’s ‘Garbage Patch’
A cluster of plastic garbage has formed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Los Angeles. Capt. Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, takes the viewer to this gigantic area of plastic pieces in the middle of the Pacific.
Go to http://www.crypticmoth.com/2006/07/internet-debut-of-alphabet-soup.html and click on the “Alphabet_Soup.wmv” at the end of the first message, which is dated Monday, July 31, 2006 and titled “Internet Debut of Alphabet Soup”.
SkanDesign, reporting and monitoring are key elements of combating lake pollution. For example, if the running water in a ditch that is downstream from a freshly manured(is that a word?) field is collected and tested for contaminants, that’s a first step.
Protecting the lake takes more than the staff at the DEC or the OCHD and the City of Syracuse. Interest and involvement from people in the watershed is also very important.
It’s a complicated scenario. There are economic concerns, property right issues, nonsensical government policies that neuter environmental laws, defensive government employees who don’t like their routines disrupted by concerned citizens. The list goes on.
At least there are some watchdog groups like the Tri-County Lakes Pure Water Association out there. John Menapace and Larry Rothenberg http://www.flc-acbs.org/december2007-11.htm are also helping with the milfoil nightmare.
So it’s not all bad. But it takes time, money and people that care.
1 question that comes up often in our household as we see the effort of (I’m not sure which official agency it is but I think it’s the one with the water logo on their truck) “some” agency that comes around periodically. They seem to be real sticklers for testing the leach bed on our properties. Are they also checking these ditches? They are concerned with human waste - and I am very appreciative of this. Are they equally concerned with animal waste?
I understand what you appear to be saying above. In my opinion there are too many things that get in the way of just doing what is right. But then again that seems to be par for the course with almost anything isn’t it?
John Menapace is my neighbor, nice guy and I think the work he is doing is great.
By the way, when you are typing in “comments” on here the links won’t work for people viewing the comments. If you wanted to create an individual article “post” using the above comment then you could make that link and “actual” link.
I just posted the link to the milfoil website you provided on here over in the discussion so people would see it there also. I am interested in the .wmv file you posted on here. I think it is a file that is on your computer’s hard drive - it doesn’t appear as a link on here. If you could e-mail me the .wmv file as an attachment to briel@skaneatelesdesign.com - then I could make sure the movie is a link also over in the discussion. Unfortunately the commenting area on the blogs don’t allow for links. Only “posts”.
** I was actually wrong, the links will work in the comment area. The link you provided up above wasn’t a clickable link because of the ( ) that were at the beginning and end. I deleted those and now the milfoil link is clickable.
Hope you don’t mind that I edited it
WOW! That’s a really good video! The gyre maps and description are well done and easily understood. The people involved are interesting too! “Garbage Patch” is such an apt description of what is taking place.
The truck that comes around with the logo on the side could be the City Of Syracuse Water Dept. They’re in the building between the Sherwood and Valentines. They drive dark blue pickups and do monitor septic fields, which helps maintain water quality in a big way.
Most people forget to have their septic tanks pumped out on a regular basis. It’s important to have this done every three years. It’ll save your leach field from being ruined and it’s also good for the lake.
I think you are right. I believe the trucks I have seen are the Syracuse Water Dept.
By the way, I thought I would mention that If you create Quick Post when you sign in to this blog, your blog will again appear in the “LatestTalk” section on the User Blogs and therefore gain more exposure to people visiting the site.
As other bloggers create posts the “LatestTalk” bumps off the older posts. Seeing how most of your activity is comments, you may have to occasionally post a blog article to get yourself back up on the “LatestTalk”. If you want that exposure.
Just a thought. Hope you are enjoying this entrance into Spring Chris Briel
Hi everybody. This blog is being set up to give residents a chance to voice their feelings about development in the watershed, lake quality and boating issues.
Enjoy!
There is alot going on lately regarding our lake and the water. I have wondered for the last couple of years why are the jet ski’s allowed on this lake seeing how it is a drinking water source? And why are properties that are less than a 1/4 of a mile from the water source itself allowed to have chicken feces dumped all over them??? I welcome any information on this subject as I certainly am not an expert just a concerned resident and water drinker.
The chicken manure - where is that being used? And is it by a landscaping company? These are the kinds of things that need to be looked into.
The jet skis dump do dump fuel into the lake - they’re banned elsewhere in the US. Why not here?
I think the most important thing that people need to realize is that Skaneateles Lake is an extremely unique body of water. Because of that, it needs to be treated differently to maintain its purity, or at least prevent it from degrading more than it already has.
The City of Syracuse doesn’t even consider the 150 seasonal watercourses that feed the lake to be watercourses. That’s in direct opposition to NY State Law, which defines a watercourse as a visible path that water flows through on a regular basis. Yet it goes on. Because of this, septic fields located closer than 100′ from a watercourse are approved by the OCHD. It’s unbelievable.
“Since 1990, New York State law clearly states that new septic system leach fields must be at least 100 feet from existing watercourses. The law goes on to define a watercourse as a “visible path through which water travels on a regular basis”. New York law also states that local health departments must not adopt standards less stringent than the State.”
Add in the chicken manure and fertilizer run-off, and it’s like death by 1000 cuts.
I’m glad to see someone else in the area is wondering why the jetski’s aren’t banned on this lake. I was pretty sure the way they operated that they dumped fuel.
Regarding the chicken feces. I know it is spread on the agriculture fields at the top of our road (1 mile or less from the lake). On any given rainy day the water rushing down through ditches is all you need to see to know that the run-off at the top of the hill will end up in the lake. I can’t recall if the feces is spread on the particular field that is REALLY close to the lake - less than 1/4 mile(I will know soon enough as we are going in to that time of year).
This is all such a concern - why isn’t there anything being done about it? We stopped drinking our own water over 10 years ago as it is pumped directly from the ground via well and we weren’t comfortable drinking it - seeing what we see on the land surrounding us.
BTW, this is an interesting blog and great idea!
Slightly off topic, but fascinating. The environmental impact of human activity on a global scale:
Navigating the Pacific’s ‘Garbage Patch’
A cluster of plastic garbage has formed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Los Angeles. Capt. Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, takes the viewer to this gigantic area of plastic pieces in the middle of the Pacific.
Go to http://www.crypticmoth.com/2006/07/internet-debut-of-alphabet-soup.html and click on the “Alphabet_Soup.wmv” at the end of the first message, which is dated Monday, July 31, 2006 and titled “Internet Debut of Alphabet Soup”.
This is amazing info.
SkanDesign, reporting and monitoring are key elements of combating lake pollution. For example, if the running water in a ditch that is downstream from a freshly manured(is that a word?) field is collected and tested for contaminants, that’s a first step.
Protecting the lake takes more than the staff at the DEC or the OCHD and the City of Syracuse. Interest and involvement from people in the watershed is also very important.
It’s a complicated scenario. There are economic concerns, property right issues, nonsensical government policies that neuter environmental laws, defensive government employees who don’t like their routines disrupted by concerned citizens. The list goes on.
At least there are some watchdog groups like the Tri-County Lakes Pure Water Association out there. John Menapace and Larry Rothenberg http://www.flc-acbs.org/december2007-11.htm are also helping with the milfoil nightmare.
So it’s not all bad. But it takes time, money and people that care.
1 question that comes up often in our household as we see the effort of (I’m not sure which official agency it is but I think it’s the one with the water logo on their truck) “some” agency that comes around periodically. They seem to be real sticklers for testing the leach bed on our properties. Are they also checking these ditches? They are concerned with human waste - and I am very appreciative of this. Are they equally concerned with animal waste?
I understand what you appear to be saying above. In my opinion there are too many things that get in the way of just doing what is right. But then again that seems to be par for the course with almost anything isn’t it?
John Menapace is my neighbor, nice guy and I think the work he is doing is great.
By the way, when you are typing in “comments” on here the links won’t work for people viewing the comments. If you wanted to create an individual article “post” using the above comment then you could make that link and “actual” link.
I just posted the link to the milfoil website you provided on here over in the discussion so people would see it there also. I am interested in the .wmv file you posted on here. I think it is a file that is on your computer’s hard drive - it doesn’t appear as a link on here. If you could e-mail me the .wmv file as an attachment to briel@skaneatelesdesign.com - then I could make sure the movie is a link also over in the discussion. Unfortunately the commenting area on the blogs don’t allow for links. Only “posts”.
** I was actually wrong, the links will work in the comment area. The link you provided up above wasn’t a clickable link because of the ( ) that were at the beginning and end. I deleted those and now the milfoil link is clickable.
Hope you don’t mind that I edited it
Thanks SkanDesign! I edited the post regarding the sea of plastic garbage in the Pacific, so now it’s available to view.
WOW! That’s a really good video! The gyre maps and description are well done and easily understood. The people involved are interesting too! “Garbage Patch” is such an apt description of what is taking place.
The truck that comes around with the logo on the side could be the City Of Syracuse Water Dept. They’re in the building between the Sherwood and Valentines. They drive dark blue pickups and do monitor septic fields, which helps maintain water quality in a big way.
Most people forget to have their septic tanks pumped out on a regular basis. It’s important to have this done every three years. It’ll save your leach field from being ruined and it’s also good for the lake.
BTW, the Zoning Variance Board and the Town Planning Board post their meeting minutes on http://townofskaneateles.com/minutes.shtml
There’s some interesting information concerning development issues in the lake’s watershed contained in those meeting minutes.
I think you are right. I believe the trucks I have seen are the Syracuse Water Dept.
By the way, I thought I would mention that If you create Quick Post when you sign in to this blog, your blog will again appear in the “LatestTalk” section on the User Blogs and therefore gain more exposure to people visiting the site.
As other bloggers create posts the “LatestTalk” bumps off the older posts. Seeing how most of your activity is comments, you may have to occasionally post a blog article to get yourself back up on the “LatestTalk”. If you want that exposure.
Just a thought. Hope you are enjoying this entrance into Spring
Chris Briel