A Lake Is Only As Good As Its Watershed
By PATRICK L. FANELLI
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9/14/2006 - Before county legislators vote on a $567,000 funding plan for Chautauqua Lake, the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy hopes they will recognize the group’s most fundamental lesson — a lake is only as good as its watershed.
If passed, the 2007 Action Plan to fix the lake’s problems will include thousands of dollars for watershed projects, and conservancy officials are urging legislators to approve the proposal so they can better approach the lake’s problems at the source.
‘‘You have to realize the lake is fed by 11 streams, and each of those streams has a watershed. What happens in the watersheds determines what happens in the streams,’’ said Art Webster, conservancy board president. ‘‘Whatever we can do to improve the situation in the watershed will ultimately benefit the lake.’’
Like all lake groups, the conservancy — a non-profit group that seeks to preserve the lake’s watershed — is part of the Chautauqua Lake Management Commission, which presented the spending proposal to county legislators recently.
If passed, the 14-point plan will direct money to several watershed initiatives, such as evaluating sites for conservation; controlling storm water runoff and erosion; restoring eroded streambeds; and preventing sedimentation and nutrients from entering the lake.
‘‘The action plan has been developed by the cooperation of all the interested groups,’’ Webster said. ‘‘In the past, there has been competition between the different groups and they distrusted each other, but now, under the CLMC, they’re sitting down together. It’s a concerted effort to address the problems in the lake and the watershed for the first time that I can remember, and I learned to walk in Maple Springs.’’
Webster said the rest of the conservancy board is in favor of the spending plan and passed a resolution urging county legislators to adopt it.
According to John Jablonski, conservancy director, it’s much easier to solve the lake’s problems at their source. For instance, it may cost thousands of dollars and require a state permit to periodically remove sediment and debris that creates islands and deltas offshore, but there is a much easier fix.
‘‘There are demonstration projects in there that entail setting up sediment traps,’’ Jablonski said. ‘‘Basically, we’re looking at concrete boxes on some smaller drainage ways so water will flow into them and flow out, and the heavier sediment will fall to the bottom. It’s much more cost effective.’’
The county legislature is expected to vote on the 2007 Action Plan at its Sept. 27 meeting, and CLMC officials are hoping to win support from the public before the final decision is made.
If passed, the 2007 Action Plan to fix the lake’s problems will include thousands of dollars for watershed projects, and conservancy officials are urging legislators to approve the proposal so they can better approach the lake’s problems at the source.
‘‘You have to realize the lake is fed by 11 streams, and each of those streams has a watershed. What happens in the watersheds determines what happens in the streams,’’ said Art Webster, conservancy board president. ‘‘Whatever we can do to improve the situation in the watershed will ultimately benefit the lake.’’
Like all lake groups, the conservancy — a non-profit group that seeks to preserve the lake’s watershed — is part of the Chautauqua Lake Management Commission, which presented the spending proposal to county legislators recently.
If passed, the 14-point plan will direct money to several watershed initiatives, such as evaluating sites for conservation; controlling storm water runoff and erosion; restoring eroded streambeds; and preventing sedimentation and nutrients from entering the lake.
‘‘The action plan has been developed by the cooperation of all the interested groups,’’ Webster said. ‘‘In the past, there has been competition between the different groups and they distrusted each other, but now, under the CLMC, they’re sitting down together. It’s a concerted effort to address the problems in the lake and the watershed for the first time that I can remember, and I learned to walk in Maple Springs.’’
Webster said the rest of the conservancy board is in favor of the spending plan and passed a resolution urging county legislators to adopt it.
According to John Jablonski, conservancy director, it’s much easier to solve the lake’s problems at their source. For instance, it may cost thousands of dollars and require a state permit to periodically remove sediment and debris that creates islands and deltas offshore, but there is a much easier fix.
‘‘There are demonstration projects in there that entail setting up sediment traps,’’ Jablonski said. ‘‘Basically, we’re looking at concrete boxes on some smaller drainage ways so water will flow into them and flow out, and the heavier sediment will fall to the bottom. It’s much more cost effective.’’
The county legislature is expected to vote on the 2007 Action Plan at its Sept. 27 meeting, and CLMC officials are hoping to win support from the public before the final decision is made.
For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com
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