Category: The Environment

The Lake George Park Commission released a press release this week, spotlighting the success they have had in fighting the spread of Milfoil. Here are some of the highlights:

A program to manage Eurasian Watermilfoil in Lake George, spearheaded by the Lake George Park Commission, eliminated more than 670,000 plants in 2010. 93% of the 183 sites where nuisance milfoil has ever been found in the Lake were clear of all milfoil at the conclusion of 2010.

The 2010 results are summarized in a report that has been posted to the Commission’s website www.lgpc.state.ny.us. The results indicate that the number of dense beds requiring future management has been steadily reduced in recent years. In 2010, for the first time, more bottom barriers were removed than added indicating that the program has reached a significant level of control.

The Lake George Park Commission has been the lead agency for the management effort for 25 years providing most of the funding from annual user fees paid by local boat and dock owners. Since 2006, State Senator Elizabeth Little has secured annual allocations of State funds from an invasive species program established that year. “It takes a tremendous effort to achieve a result like this,” said Senator Betty Little. “I’m pleased to have been able to play a small role in securing funding. The battle continues, but this level of success has implications beyond Lake George as other communities and organizations will no doubt look here to learn how to successfully fight invasive species that threaten water bodies throughout the state.”

Invasive species are now generally recognized as the most significant threat to the Lake. The Lake’s superior water quality, the signature characteristic for which Lake George is world renown, is in large part a function of complex biological interrelationships. Invasive species have the potential to alter these relationships, the web of life in the Lake, and thereby destroy the Lake’s most attractive qualities.

Read the press release here.

Read the entire Milfoil report here.

The English Brook delta in Lake George has grown significantly during the past decade. Seen here is an aerial picture of the delta taken by the LGA in November 2010. (Click the picture to see in full-scale.)

The Lake George Association has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to help protect the English Brook Watershed on Lake George.

The grant will partially fund the installation of a $48,400 Aqua-Swirl hydrodynamic separator on the east side of Rt. 9N at the Lochlea Estate in the town of Lake George. The system will collect 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 the 48-acre watershed will be captured and treated.

Other stormwater solutions requiring a larger footprint were explored but were not possible due to the shallow soil depth and high bedrock found throughout the site. The Aqua-Swirl unit has a small footprint and a suitable location was found near existing stormwater infrastructure. The project is also taking the opportunity to capture untreated stormwater runoff from the west side of the road. By installing some additional infrastructure, stormwater from both sides of the road will be directed to the new unit. The cost of the entire project is estimated at $117,000. In addition to the Lake Champlain Basin Program grant, funding for this project has been secured from the Lake George Watershed Coalition and the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation. The village of Lake George will maintain the structure and clean out the system using the LGA’s Catch Vac.

One of the eight major streams entering Lake George, English Brook has been of high concern to the Association for over a decade. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) lists the brook as sediment impaired, and its delta is one of the largest on the Lake. 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.

How does an Aqua-Swirl Hydrodynamic Separator work?

Stormwater enters an Aqua-Swirl unit through an inlet pipe, producing a circular flow that makes contaminates settle. A swirl concentrator removes the gross pollutants; a filtration chamber then removes fine sediment and waterborne pollutants. A combination of gravity and hydrodynamic forces encourages solids to drop out of the flow and migrate to the center of the chamber, where velocities will be lower. The Aqua-Swirl also retains water between storms, allowing for settling of inorganic solids when the water is not flowing.

Additional work protecting the English Brook Watershed

Significant work in the English Brook watershed has already been completed by the LGA in conjunction with Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District (WCSWCD). In 2009, design work for a 150-foot-long sediment basin at the mouth of the brook was completed. Permits for this project have been submitted to the appropriate agencies. The basin will be about 6 feet deep with a capacity to trap over 700 cubic yards of material. 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. The LGA acquired funding for both projects through grants from the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation and the New York State Department of State and the Environmental Protection Fund.

Once this important upland work is completed, the culminating step is to remove the sediment that has built up in the delta 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.

Young campers enjoy Floating Battery Island, one of the campsites in the Narrows Group of Lake George.

Due in large part to public pressure and efforts made by the Lake George Association, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reversed an earlier decision to discontinue trash collection centers for the Lake George islands in 2011.

The DEC has decided to raise campers’ fees to offset the costs of operating the trash collection centers. In 2011, in-state campers will pay $28 per night and out-of-state campers will pay $33. Rates in 2010 were $25 a night for all campers. These new rates and the reversed decision are not yet reflected on DEC or camp reservation websites.

Earlier this summer the DEC announced that, beginning in the 2011 season, it would no longer provide trash removal services for people camping or picnicking on the Lake George islands. Due to state budget problems, the DEC announced it would be implementing a “carry in, carry out” policy for the islands. At the time, DEC spokespersons said that the decision was final and non-negotiable.

The LGA responded immediately, with Executive Director Walt Lender issuing a letter to DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis. In that letter, and corresponding letters to the editors of local newspapers, Lender encouraged the DEC to consider alternatives and to meet face to face with Association members, local elected officials, and other local stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the history and unique local situation regarding these campers and campsites. With pressure mounting from State Senator Betty Little, Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, local officials and other groups, the DEC agreed to meet.

The decision deeply concerned the LGA, as trash left behind at campsites, floating in the water, or piling up at lakeside marinas, can be highly detrimental to both the lake’s water quality and to its beauty. Buck Bryan, LGA past president, in an interview with Albany’s Times Union, shared his memories of what it was like before the state started garbage collection on the lake in 1955, and it wasn’t pretty. There was garbage all around on the sites, he said. Marina owners and other shoreline business owners are also well aware of the severe problems that occur at their businesses when state garbage collection is inadequate: garbage overspills from their small private containers.

“The solution really came out of the meeting that Senator Little hosted in Bolton,” said Walt Lender. “Then Betty and Assemblywoman Sayward went back to Albany and did some heavy lifting. We’re very pleased that the service will continue, but we hope campers will plan accordingly and keep their trash to a minimum,” he said.

As has been the case for over a decade, 2011 island campers will be required to remove all of their trash and recyclables from their individual campsites, and will have the option to take it by boat to one of three garbage collection centers: Uncas Island, Narrow Island or Long Island. Campers can stay on the islands as long as two weeks. Without these collection centers in place, the responsible camper would either have had to store up to two weeks of garbage at their campsite or on their boat, or they would have had to interrupt their vacations mid-week, boat back to the shoreline, get in their cars, and drive their garbage to a town landfill — not the easiest task for out-of-town campers not familiar with local landfill locations. A more likely scenario would be that more campers would either leave their trash behind at the campsite, where it could easily flow into the Lake, or would dump it in the private dumpster of a marina or other a shoreline business, causing an unfair burden to these businesses.