Category: The Environment

The Lake George Association has constructed a new sediment pond at English Brook. The pond is designed to capture hundreds of tons of sediment before it enters Lake George.

The Lake George Association has completed the construction of a new sediment basin at the mouth of English Brook in the town of Lake George at the southern end of the lake. Construction was completed during the last week of October. The 150-foot long sediment basin was designed by the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District (WCSWCD) with financial assistance from the LGA. The basin will slow down the flow of water and allow sediment to fall out prior to entering the Lake. Grass pavers were also installed to enable future access to the site so that it can be maintained. The basin will be cleaned out every one to two years, when it reaches about 50-75% capacity. Each time it is cleaned out, roughly 300-400 cubic yards of material will be removed.

After Tropical Storm Irene, English Brook changed its route near its mouth: it started flowing in the same path that it did nearly 50 years ago, prior to the construction of the Northway. The last 300 feet of the brook now flows in a northeasterly direction. After input from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), it was determined that the stream should remain in place and the basin installed where the stream is currently flowing.

This picture, taken in November 2010, shows the path that English brook took before Tropical Storm Irene and the delta forming in Lake George.

In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, WCSWCD used funds provided by the DEC to pull out trees, remediate the streambank and recreate capacity in the brook. The remainder of these funds will be used to complete more of the projects outlined in a WSCSCD 2008 English Brook Watershed Study, and the LGA will provide supplemental funding for these where possible.

English Brook is one of eight major brooks flowing into Lake George. “LGA lake saving projects make a huge difference to water quality, because stormwater runoff is the number one source of pollutants entering Lake George,” said Randy Rath, LGA project manager.

Since the construction of the Northway, the shoreline near the mouth of English Brook has moved significantly. A cottage that was once right on the lake now sits several hundred yards back. The DEC lists the brook as sediment impaired, and its delta is one of the largest on Lake George. According to National Urban Runoff Program reports conducted during the 1980s, English Brook has high levels of total phosphorus, chlorides, total suspended sediments, lead and nitrate-nitrogen.

Dave Wick, executive director of the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, stands at the current Lake George shoreline near the mouth of English Brook, and looks back at a cottage that was located at the water’s edge some 50 years ago. Construction of the Northway increased the amount of sediment carried downstream and caused the location of the shoreline to change significantly.

English Brook is located just north of Lake George Village at the Lochlea Estate. Earlier this summer, the LGA installed a $49,500 Aqua-Swirl stormwater separator on the property, as part of a $100,000 stormwater project. This system is collecting previously untreated stormwater runoff from both the east and west sides of Rt. 9N, as well as the bridge between the two exits at Exit 22 on Interstate 87. The majority of the runoff in a 48-acre subwatershed is now being captured and treated.

Further upstream, at the Hubble Reservoir, the LGA hired Galusha Construction to remove a non-functioning sluice gate and valve that were making it difficult to maintain the site. The site was dewatered and almost 600 cubic yards of sediment were removed in 2009. This reservoir is slated for cleaning again in 2012. The LGA acquired funding for all of the English Brook projects through grants from the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation and the New York State Department of State and the Environmental Protection Fund, with additional funding for the Aqua-Swirl project provided by the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

Now that much of the needed upland work is complete, the culminating lake saving step for English Brook is to remove the sediment that has built up in the delta in Lake George over the course of generations. The nutrient-rich sediment in deltas supports invasive plant growth, hampers fish spawning, and harbors nuisance waterfowl. By removing the delta, safe navigation is restored, the health of the Lake’s fisheries improves, the Lake returns to its original bottom, and property values are retained.

Last week, crews cleaned out the sediment that has built up in a retention basin on Hague Brook. This pond on the upper part of the brook was originally constructed by the LGA in 2006. Over 45 dump trucks full of material was removed from two different retention basins on the brook.

This past week, three sediment basins in Hague were cleaned out: two on Hague Brook, and a third at the mouth of Jenkins Brook. The project was a team effort by the Lake George Association, Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the town of Hague. Over 1100 cubic yards of material was removed from the three sites.

“These basins are instrumental to maintaining high water quality in Lake George,” said LGA executive director Walt Lender. “We began constructing the basins several years ago, and now every one to two years we go in to clean them out. The LGA provides project support and partial funding for the construction projects as well as funding to help maintain the sites,” he added.

Approximately $5,000 of the $8,000 Hague clean-outs has been funded by the LGA, with in-kind management and project oversite by the Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District, and in-kind hauling services provided by the town of Hague. “The town of Hague realizes the importance of maintaining the basins and the health of Lake George. We were happy to contribute to the project,” said Hague Town Supervisor Dan Belden.

A long-reach excavator removes sediment from a retention basin at the mouth of Jenkins Brook.

From the upper basin on Hague Brook, crews removed 530 cubic yards of material, or roughly 31 dump trucks full. On the lower basin on Hague Brook, 285 cubic yards of material was removed, equating to roughly 16 dump trucks full. At Jenkins Brook, 345 cubic yards of sediment was removed, roughly 20 dump trucks full. Morrissey Construction provided trucking services and an operator for the long reach excavator, and Services Unlimited also provided trucking services.

Beginning in the early 1990s, an active program of utilizing upland in-stream sediment basins to capture sediment began in Warren County, spearheaded by the Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District (WCSWCD). Old reservoirs were cleaned out and new in-stream sediment basins were created. By slowing stream velocity, basins allow sediment to drop out of suspension and be captured by the basin prior to reaching Lake George.

Michael Abrahamson, LGA lake steward, inspects a boat for invasive species at the Dunham’s Bay launch this summer. Dunham’s was a new location for the program this year.

The Lake George Association (LGA) has released preliminary results from the 2011 Lake Steward program. The LGA has managed training, hiring, supervision and reporting for the Lake Steward Program since 2008.

During the summer of 2011, LGA Lake stewards were posted at six different boat launches: Norowal Marina, Mossy Point, Hague Town Beach, Rogers Rock, Dunham’s Bay, and Million Dollar Beach. The stewards inspected 8,584 boats for invasive species, removed suspicious specimens from 52 boats prior to launch, and educated over 19,000 people about the threats of invasive species and how to prevent their spread.

“We had an extremely busy summer,” said Emily DeBolt, LGA director of education and outreach. “From over 8,500 boats inspected, 1,016 were at risk of bringing invasives into Lake George because they had been in a body of water other than Lake George during the past two weeks,” she said. “Right now, Lake George has only four invasive species. Some of our nearby water bodies have dozens.”

Upon launch, suspicious specimens were removed from 52 boats. Of those, 31 of the boats were carrying at least one invasive species. The LGA recovered 22 samples of Eurasian watermilfoil, 9 samples of curly-leaf pondweed, 4 of water chestnut and 2 of zebra mussel.

The stewards also inspected boats returning to the launch after boating on the Lake. Seventy-three of these boats had suspicious samples removed. Of these, 46 boats contained at least one invasive species. The LGA recovered 15 samples of Eurasian watermilfoil, 6 of curly-leaf pondweed, and 2 of water chestnut.

“Our stewards ask the boaters if they have taken preventative steps to guard against the introduction and spread of invasive species. This year, 75 percent of the boats we interacted with said they had,” said Walt Lender, executive director of the LGA. “While this is definitely positive news, and shows that people are becoming increasingly aware of the need to properly clean their boats, we want to see these numbers go even higher in the years to come,” he said.

The program grew significantly from its 2010 level, when 2,538 boats were inspected at four launches. Additional funding provided this year by the Lake Champlain Basin Program and the Lake George Park Commission allowed for more coverage during peak periods and at launches that receive the highest traffic. Additional financial support was provided by the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation. The program was originally conceived by the Invasive Species Task Force of the Lake George Watershed Coalition.

In addition to inspection, lake stewards collected additional data about lake users and invasive species spread. This information sheds light on the pathways of invasive species, and helps to identify target areas for early detection and control. A full report for the public is being prepared and will be ready later this year.

The program is closely coordinated with similar programs. Lake George, Lake Champlain, and the Adirondack Watershed Institute collaborate on training, printed materials, and data collection as members of a regional partnership, the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP).

The Lake George Association announced today that Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company is donating an additional $20,000 to the LGA for the West Brook Conservation Initiative (WBCI) project, located on the former Gaslight Village property. This gift brings Glens Falls National Bank’s total commitment to the project to $25,000.

“In all of our 125 year history, the West Brook Conservation Initiative is the Lake George Association’s largest, most important water quality remediation effort,” said Walt Lender, executive director of the LGA. “This project will treat millions of gallons of stormwater,” he continued, “while also educating thousands of annual Lake George visitors about the importance of water quality. We are so grateful to Glens Falls National for recognizing the importance of this project.”

“Glens Falls National Bank has been a strong partner from the start. We appreciate their increased support,” said Victor Hershaft, LGA president.

Due to the filling of historic wetlands, channeling of the stream, and development in the stream’s watershed, West Brook today is the single largest source of contaminants — pollution, nutrients and sediment — entering the south basin of Lake George. The delta at the mouth of the brook has grown to over 7,000 square meters. To date, $9.4 million has been raised toward the $15 million dollar project.

“Here at Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company we are well aware of the central role Lake George plays in our region’s economy. We know that protecting the exceptional quality of the lake’s water is essential, and are very excited about this project, as we believe it is key to ensuring a healthy future for the lake and its citizens,” said Tom Hoy, CEO and chairman of Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company. “And as a result of our donation, we hope other businesses will be able to support this Lake George project as well,” he continued.

Earlier this year, grading and infrastructure for a stormwater treatment complex was completed on the south parcel of the property. This series of sediment ponds and wetlands will naturally slow stormwater generated from the Route 9 corridor and adjoining properties, capture sediment, and filter pollutants. Wetland plants will be installed next year. Project engineers estimate that 90% of the sediment will be successfully treated and over one-half of the nutrients will be removed.

Conceptual designs for an interactive environmental education park and festival space on the property are underway, and were approved earlier this fall by the Warren County Board of Supervisors. Public input for the designs was gathered over the summer, and a public review of the concepts will occur later this fall.

Significant state and federal funding has been acquired to complete the construction of the project, but monies still need to be raised from private individuals and corporations to pay for the conservation easement on the land. In addition to a $2.1 million loan on the Gaslight Village purchase by the LGA and the FUND for Lake George, the Lake George Land Conservancy is carrying a $2.7 million loan on the 1,400-acre Berry Pond tract, which protects the upland watershed for West Brook.

LGA Volunteer and board member Salim Amersi works as part of a LGA beach clean-up effort after Tropical Storm Irene.

Tropical Storm Irene left large amounts of debris on the beaches at the southern end of Lake George, and due to the wide-spread damage caused by the storm, officials weren’t able to attend to it immediately. On Saturday, September 17th, volunteers from the Lake George Association stepped in to remove the debris and rake up the beaches.

“Tropical Storm Irene created a real mess along Million Dollar and Dog Beach, and I saw that it wasn’t getting cleaned up very quickly, so the LGA got on it,” said Mike Grasso, an LGA volunteer and board member. “There were pieces of asphalt in the Lake near the West Brook Inlet, lots of blue Styrofoam, empty water bottles, and lots of other manmade and natural debris everywhere. This past Saturday LGA volunteers raked it all up before it could float back out into the Lake,” he said.

“The area is once again pleasant for walking and in good shape for our shoulder season tourists,” said Walt Lender, LGA executive director. “But its’ not just about aesthetics, this was a water quality problem too. We wanted to make sure to pick up the plastic, especially the Styrofoam, before it returned to the Lake,” he said.

Styrofoam is a particularly bad product for the environment because it does not biodegrade, and is not easily recycled. It crumbles into fragments that have no expiration date, and persists indefinitely as litter, breaking up into pieces that choke and clog animal digestive systems in waterways.