Cayuga Lake ProjectRich Bowen

Jeremy DeansJacob KrallRami Zahr

Supervisor: Cliff Callinan, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)

Partner Organization Representative: Ruthanna Hawkins, Cayuga Lake Watershed Network

Cayuga Lake Project Worked with NYSDEC and Cayuga Lake Watershed Network

Problem: Fecal Coliform spikes have long been an issue in Cayuga Lake, necessitating the closing of Stewart Park Beach in 1966

Long-term goal: Fully understand the Coliform spikes and move toward a solution

This semester: Initial data compilation, research, problem definition.

Watershed Characteristics

Part of the Oswego River Basin Drains into Lake Ontario 39.3 miles long, max depth of 435 feet,

shoreline of 95.3 miles, average width 1.7 miles

<http://www.cayugawatershed.org/Cayuga%20Lake/RPP/caywaterresources.htm>.

N

Subwatershed

Tributaries: Cayuga Inlet

Buttermilk Creek Fall Creek

Virgil Creek Cascadilla Creek Six Mile Creek

<http://www.cayugawatershed.org/clwsmap.html>.

Fecal Coliform

Indicator of amount of other potentially harmful pathogens found in warm blooded animals

Pathogen easily measured (e.g. E. Coli) Fecal coliform levels should not exceed

200 col/100mL and total coliform levels 2,400 col/100mL

Possible Sources

Sewage and Municipal Waste

Agricultural Runoff

Wildlife Around Lake

Urban Runoff

Possibly Related to Fecal Coliform

Total Coliform Phosphorous Nitrogen Total Suspended Solids Water Flow Rate (tributaries) Precipitation

Differentiating Between Types of Runoff

Agricultural: Pesticides, mercury, arsenic, & selenium

Urban: Oils & trace metals used in local industry

Sewage: Surfactants and other pathogens

Chapman, Deborah Water Quality Assessments 1996; pg 339

Different Loads of Coliform Low River x High Contaminant Water Flow Rate Concentration = Low Load

→ Impairment close to river input

High River x Low Contaminant Water Flow Rate Concentration = High Load

→ Slow, whole lake deterioration

Data Collected by the NY State Department of Health

Sample Collected InformationIthaca Yacht Club 1984 - 1997 Total Coliform

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Date

Data Collected by Six Mile Creek Watershed Committee

Phosphorous CorrelationColiform vs Total Phosphorous

Six Mile Creek 9-22-04y = 472.18x - 1660.2

R2 = 0.8647

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0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Total Phosphorous (ug/L)

Col

iform

(col

/100

mL)

Data Collected by Volunteers of Fall Creek Watershed Committee

Phosphorous CorrelationColiform vs. Soluble Reactive Phosphorous

Virgil Creek, Owego Hill Road y = -33.787x + 1984.4R2 = 0.4195

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0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

SRP (ug/L)

Col

iform

(col

/100

mL)

Data Collected by Volunteers of Fall Creek Watershed Committee

Flow Rate CorrelationTotal Coliform vs Flow rate

Fall Creek (10-18-02 to 7-13-04)y = 18.948x + 2013.4

R2 = 0.3523

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0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800Flow Rate (ft^3/s)

Col

iform

(col

/100

mL)

Data Collected by Volunteers of Fall Creek Watershed Committee

Precipitation CorrelationE. Coli vs. Precipitation

Fall Creek (11-20-03 to 11-10-04) y = 963.66x + 157.23R2 = 0.9627

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0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6

Percipitation (inches)

Col

iform

(col

/100

mL)

Soil

Glacial till (clay, silt, and gravel) Clays are the most effective filter Bacteria are attracted to clay (cation

bridging) Sandy soils have poor retention Bacteria moves faster through coarser

soils

Movement in Soils

Storm water is the main cause of bacteria infiltration into water ways

Cracks in the bed rock increase seepage rate

Water table fluctuations can strand bacteria

Bacteria will die without proper host

Probable Solution

Marshes: cattails, red-stemmed dogwood, arrow-wood, water willow, woolgrass, reed

Intertwining roots, leaves and fibers remove sediment from slow-moving water

Marsh slows down the water and bacteria laden sediment drops out

Marsh plant’s roots and stems stop both surface and subsurface water

Removal

80-90% of sediment is removed by wetlands

65% of sediment never leaves the wetland Provide surfaces for microorganisms

(protozoans) to grow that are predators

Finger Lakes Wetlands

Conesus, Hemlock, Canadice, Honeoye Lakes

Canandaigua Lake Keuka Lake

Seneca Lake Cayuga Lake Owasco, Skaneateles, Otisco Lakes

(Callinan Presentation DEC)

Geographic Information Systems ProjectGoals

Map out sampling points:

DOH data at various sites Fall and Sixmile Creek data taken by Community Organizations USGS gages Others: WWTPs, RUSS Unit Also on map: Land Use data, watershed divisions

Link points on map to data that has been collected.

The map will serve as a tool for future groups working on this project.

Create interactive map on team website?

GIS Map

Summary

What has been done:

Compiled large amounts of data from (DOH, Local WWTPs, Non Profit Orgs)

Begun research into various topics (geology, vegetation, coliform sources, sampling techniques)

Preliminary GIS work

Future Work

Look into DNA analysis

Minerals’ effect on bacteria

Further GIS work

Seasonal population density of migratory birds and

their fecal coliform contribution

Research synthetic wetland construction

More Sources for Data Compilation

Water Treatment Plants

Wastewater Treatment Plants

Cornell Lake Source Cooling

Data Collectors – Thank You

Department of Environmental Conservation – New York State

Department of Health – New York State Six Mile Creek Watershed Committee Monitoring Volunteers for the Fall Creek

Watershed Committee

Special Thanks

Ruthanna Hawkins – Cayuga Lake Watershed Network (WN)

Cliff Callinan – NY State Department of Environmental Conservation

Nicholas Hollingshead (WN) Prof. Ruth Richardson – CEE Prof. Rachel Davidson - CEE

Questions?