Rochester harbor on L. Ontario on Federal Watch List

From The Center for Environmental Information:  

The Problems

• Algae
• Sediment
• Stressed fisheries
• Threatened drinking water
• Beach closings
• Over 30 streams listed as impaired by the NYS DEC
• Genesee River under-used by public
• Few river-based businesses
• No users = No interest

The Causes

The biggest threats to our region's waters are excess nutrients coming from fertilizer, manure, home septic systems, food processing by-products and discharges from older wastewater plants.  The Rochester Embayment of Lake Ontario is a federally designated Area of Concern because of a range of concerns including pollution, contaminated sediments, fish consumption advisories and impairment of beneficial use such as beach closings. Many area tributaries to Lake Ontario and the Genesee River do not meet state water quality standards.

The beaches of Lake Ontario are closed typically for 30 to 50% of the bathing season because of high bacteria levels and contamination with algae.  Development of our lakeshore assets, including the Port of Rochester, is dependent upon a sustained improvement in the near-shore water quality.  The challenge to the community is how to reduce contamination of the Lake Ontario and Finger Lakes watersheds from agricultural activities, municipal and industrial wastewater discharges, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems in a cost-effective manner. Improving the water quality in the region's waters will make a vital contribution to improving the quality of life in the area and to the economic and environmental revitalization of the region's lakeshore assets.

In the News:  The port of Rochester, where the Genesee River flows into Lake Ontario has been identified as one of 43 areas of concern on the Great Lakes.  Phosphorus loads from fertilizers farms on the river use create deadly algae blooms.  It kills fish and can make people and animals sick. Experts say 80% of the lake's pollution comes from things we put in the sewer.  A $308,000 grant should help.  

"Wish you were here . . . ." by Greg

Feathers dust Rochester NY

On Friday, July 26, 2013, there was an amazing confluence of feathers in the Rochester NY sky.  

This photo was taken on Jefferson Rd. looking east, but others saw them all over the entire sky. 

It was so startling, I thought of all the rough edges of this city that need dusting. 

Really?

Can we finally get it together?  http://www.innovationtrail.org/post/great-lakes-protection-bill-edge-passing-says-schumer 

New York Senator Chuck Schumer says the water quality along the Great Lakes continues to worsen.  Schumer is co-sponsoring a bill that would remediate contaminated sediment, help clean up toxic pollutions, combat invasive species and keep watersheds clean.  He is also pushing to reinstate $10 million in federal dollars to the BEACH Act, which was recently cut from the 2014 budget, to help keep polluted beach water safe for swimmers.  "We finally have a comprehensive program that wouldn't just deal with one issue at a time while the beach is closed because of another issue, but look at the whole program,” Schumer says.  And, he adds, the bill’s success might not be far off.

“We have a broad bi-partisan coalition democrats and republicans and it seems to be on the edge of passing."  Schumer stopped in Rochester Tuesday to announce two programs which aim to keep beaches in the Monroe County area in western New York off the EPA’s Area of Concern list.  Ontario Beach has been rated one of the worst beaches in the country because of its problems with bacteria.  He says Monroe County could stand to receive tens of millions of dollars from his $475 million-a-year plan.  The senator says it’s high time the problem of contaminated water in the Great Lakes was addressed.  "These beaches are beautiful. They are a great resource, they attract people from far away to come eat in restaurants, walk around the waterfront and go to the shops. We need the money and we're going to fight to get it."  Monroe's County executive says they haven't had access to this type of money to fix Ontario Beach's algae problem.  The bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.

Bills 113s571is known as the 'Great Lakes Water Protection Act'. UPDATE: Bill is stalled in committee: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s571

BV7 ~ fighting with or working with nature?

The body regulating water levels on Lake Ontario, the International Joint Commission (IJC), has released a proposal for a new management plan. Lake levels have a significant impact on the economic and environmental viability of harbors in upstate New York and Canada.  The last proposal, known commonly as plan BV7, was highly controversial and received such backlash during the public comment period that the commission re-drafted it.  The IJC’s, new proposal aims to strike a compromise between the concerns of environmental groups and harbor residents.  For years management plans have focused on maintaining levels conducive to maximum economic benefit and minimal damage to shoreline property.  However, losses of ecosystem diversity and drops in bird and fish populations have raised concerns about the environmental impact of unnatural water levels.  Plan BV7 tried to correct this issue by introducing more extreme highs and lows to water levels more frequently.  But, residents argued this plan would come at the price of recreational boating revenue and damage to shoreline property.  READ MORE: http://innovationtrail.org/post/new-water-management-plan-lake-ontario 

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