Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Segment Analysis Of Otter Creek: The Location Of Sources Of Pollution, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

The Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District has monitored the waterways of Orleans County since 1997 in collaboration with the State University of New York at Brockport's Center for Applied Aquatic Science and Aquaculture (CAASA). SUNY Brockport has provided analytical services for water chemistry, consulting services on the direction of the monitoring program and interpretation of data. The Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District along with the Orleans County Water Quality Coordinating Committee decided to continue the water pollution source identification in Otter Creek beginning in the spring of 2002. Otter Creek is located in the south portion …

Understanding The Role Of Phosphorus In Lakes, Isidro Bosch, Joseph Makarewicz

Joseph C Makarewicz

We believe it is important to regard the lake proper as two separate habitats, the offshore and the coastal zone. Over the last 15 years conditions along the coastal zone in Conesus Lake have deteriorated significantly, following a trend that has been documented in the Great Lakes and other Finger Lakes after the invasion of zebra mussels. Meanwhile the offshore zone has remained mildly eutrophic over the last 25 years (high in nutrients and algal biomass). While this is an undesirable state in terms of water quality, monitoring data provides no indication that the offshore system is becoming increasingly eutrophic.

Segment Analysis Of Marsh Creek: The Location Of Sources Of Pollution, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

Marsh Creek is located in the southern portion of the Lake Ontario watershed, Orleans County, New York. The watershed flows into Oak Orchard Creek near its mouth on Lake Ontario at Point Breeze, New York. A branch of Marsh Creek, is known as Beardsley Creek, and was sampled as part of the study, Also Otter Creek, which also drains into Oak Orchard Creek, was sampled two times to access whether further segment analysis is warranted at another time.

The purpose of this study was: 1. To identify sources of nutrients, soils and salts within the Marsh Creek watershed; 2. To …

Trophic Interactions: Changes In Phytoplankton Community Structure Coinciding With Alewife Introduction (Alosa Pseudoharengus), Joseph Makarewicz

Joseph C Makarewicz

Conesus Lake is a eutrophic lake (MILLS 1975) and the most western of the Finger Lakes of New York State, USA. Abundance of a top level predator, the walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum), decreased from a high of 12,000 individuals in 1966 to 9,614 individuals in 1975 to 1,850 individuals by 1985 in Conesus Lake (ABRAHAM 1989). Coincidental with the decline of the walleye in Conesus Lake was the proliferation of an obligate planktivore, Alosa pseudoharengus (ABRAHAM 1988). During the late 1970s (probably 1978 or 79), the alewife was accidentally introduced and became established in the lake. The pre-alewife zooplankton community …

Canandaigua Lake Subwatersheds: Time Trends In Event Loading And The Watershed Index, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

From an applied science perspective, a goal of the Canandaigua Lake water quality monitoring program was the development of a statistically defensible database of ecologically important parameters that would allow stewards of the watershed to prioritize and determine which subwatershed had the largest potential impact on Canandaigua Lake. Before the 2000 sampling season, we had collected and analyzed a total of 5 1 samples (36 event and 15 event samples) taken from 20 tributaries of Canandaigua Lake. After three years of sampling, the database was large enough to provide a reasonable estimate of annual nutrient and sediment loss from the …

Phytoplankton And Zooplankton Abundance And Seasonal Distribution In Eighteenmile Creek, Ny, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

The objective of this study workplan is to determine the health of the planktonic community in the Eighteenmile Area of Concern (AOC) and to establish the status of the Use Impairment Indicator in the Eighteenmile Creek Remedial Action Plan (RAP). Results from this study will be compared to results of previously studied community structure data from control / reference sites: an undisturbed creek on the south shore of Lake Ontario (Yanty Creek), the open waters of Lake Ontario, and from Braddock Bay on Lake Ontario.

The Significance Of Phosphorus Released From The Sediment Under Anoxic Conditions In Sodus Bay, N.Y., Daniel White, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

The goal of this study was to evaluate the loss of phosphorus from the sediment to the anoxic hypolimnion of Sodus Bay, New York. Total phosphorus (TP) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations were monitored weekly throughout the water column in Sodus Bay from 16 May 2001 to 22 September 2001. Increased amounts of TP and SRP into the hypolimnion, during periods of hypolimnetic anoxia, indicated that phosphorus was being released from the sediment. On an annual basis, the sediments contributed 600 kg of phosphorus to Sodus Bay (24 kg/d x 25 days, from 8/18 to 9/12) in 2001. This …

Segment Analysis Of Sucker Brook: The Location Of Sources Of Pollution, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis, Stephen Lewandowski

Joseph C Makarewicz

Sucker Brook is located in the northwest portion of the Canandaigua Lake watershed, Ontario County, New York (Figs. 1 and 2). The relatively large watershed encompasses 6.9 square miles and flows into Canandaigua Lake at the City of Canandaigua. The Canandaigua Lake Watershed Task Force with the assistance of the Ontario County Planning Department and the Soil and Water Conservation District has monitored Sucker Brook since 1996 in collaboration with the State University of New York at Brockport's Center for Applied Aquatic Science and Aquaculture (CAASA). Monitoring efforts have included the installation of a permanent gauging and sampling station located …

Nutrient Loading Of Streams Entering Lake Neatahwanta Oswego County, Ny: A Summary Of The Lake Neatahwanta Tributary Monitoring, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

This study suggests that the highly eutrophic condition of Lake Neatahwanta is in large part due to the very high loadings of nutrients from the surrounding watershed. Specifically, Sheldon Creek was identified as a major contributor of phosphorus and total suspended solids to the lake. The amount of nutrients entering the lake from Sheldon Creek were in excess of those observed in creeks of New York receiving point source loadings from small sewage treatment plants. Improvement of the water quality of Lake Neatahwanta will depend upon the identification and remediation of the major sources of nutrients in the watershed and …

Pultneyville, Salmon Creek Wayne County, New York, Joseph Makarewicz, Matthew Nowak

Joseph C Makarewicz

Pultneyville is located between Irondequoit Bay and Sodus Bay, approximately 14 miles east of Irondequoit Bay and 12 miles west of Sodus Bay. Salmon Creek drains into Lake Ontario at Pultneyville where it forms Pultneyville Harbor that boasts a 100-boat marina as well as a yacht club. Agriculture, specifically fruit orchards, dominates the harbor watershed. Little background information is available for this location. Here we report on water quality data collected monthly (May through September) in 2007 and 2009 at Pultneyville Harbor and at lakeside location east of the harbor in Lake Ontario.

Stream Water Quality Assessment Of Long Point Gully, Graywood Gully, And Sand Point Gully: Conesus Lake Tributaries Spring 2012, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis, Dale Pettenski

Joseph C Makarewicz

In 2011, Cottonwood Gully and North McMillan Creek were monitored to determine the status of these two watersheds of Conesus Lake using the newly developed Stream Water Index. In 2012, the goal was to implement the assessment tool in three additional watersheds: Long Point Gully, Sand Point Gully and Graywood Gully. The implementation of this tool allows the county to evaluate the status of Conesus Lake watersheds over time; that is, are they improving, getting worse, or not changing. An evaluation using a tool of this type should provide further direction to the Conesus Lake Watershed Management Plan.

Analysis Of The Existing Water Quality Database For The Sandy Creek And South Sandy Creek Watersheds – 1997 To 2005, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

Runoff from agricultural lands containing soil and nutrients poses a known threat to the water quality of embayments and coastal regions of Lake Ontario (Makarewicz 2000). The Lakeview Marsh State Wildlife Management Area in Jefferson County, NY is a prime example of these types of ecologically valuable coastal wetland and embayment habitats. This embayment / wetland complex is fed by the watersheds of Sandy Creek and South Sandy Creek. The mouths of these creeks contain globally rare freshwater dunes, diverse wetlands and several types of globally rare vegetation. Sandy Creek also provides an emergency unfiltered drinking water supply for the …

Water Quality Of Seneca Lake 1991-1998, Joseph Makarewicz, Roger Ward, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

The water quality of Seneca Lake has been studied since the early 1900's when secchi disk readings were first taken. At that time, the trophic state of Seneca Lake was classified as oligotrophic; that is, nutrient concentrations and primary production were low and transparency high. Water clarity remained approximately the same up through the early 1930s. In general, by the late 1970s water clarity had decreased, indicating the lake’s trophic status was mesotrophic. Total phosphorus concentrations from the 1970s were into the mesotrophic range. Chlolophyll-a concentrations also illustrate the trend toward more productive waters in Seneca Lake in the early …

Conesus Lake Tributaries, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

After several years of a general decrease in “concentrations” of various nutrients from managed watersheds, substantial increases in the concentrations of nutrients and soil particles were observed in streams during the summer of 2009 (Makarewicz and Lewis 2009). At Graywood Gully, for example, concentrations of soil (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and nitrate increased in the stream water. At Cottonwood Gully, after a 5-year decrease, nitrate concentration (NO3+NO2) increased to levels not observed since 2003. Similar increases were observed in the Southwest, Sand Point, North Gully, Sutton Point and Long Point subwatersheds. Several …

Lake Ontario Coastal Initiative Action Agenda 2004, Betsy Landre, Stephen Lewandowski, Joseph Makarewicz, John Terninko, Elizabeth Thorndike

Joseph C Makarewicz

The mission of the Lake Ontario Coastal Initiative (LOCI), encompassing all New York State North Coast stakeholders from the Niagara River to the St. Lawrence River, is to enlist and retain broad public commitment for remediation, restoration, protection, conservation and sustainable use of the coastal region. This mission will be accomplished by securing funds and resources to achieve scientific understanding, educate citizens, and implement locally supported priorities, programs and projects as identified through this Initiative.

Small Intermittent Rivulets Versus Major Tributaries: The Loss Of Soil And Nutrients From Selected Small Subwatersheds Compared To The Major Subwatersheds Of Canandaigua Lake, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

The rivulets that drain small subwatersheds of Canandaigua Lake contributed significant amounts of total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrate, soil and phosphorus to Canandaigua Lake. The large amount of material being lost from these small subwatersheds was surprising when compared to larger nearby watersheds despite the fact that only two events were sampled. This pilot study shows the potential importance that small intermittent streams may have on the health of Canandaigua Lake. We recommend that the watersheds studied be further interrogated as to potential land-use practices that could be the cause for the high losses observed. A further, more intensive study, looking …

The Oak Orchard Soil Water Assessment Tool A Decision Support System For Watershed Management Part 1: Calibration And Validation, Paul Richards, Theodore Lewis, Joseph Makarewicz, James Zollweg, Mikki Smith, Jill Libby, Duffy Roodenberg, Mike Lyzwa, Molly Stetz, Alex Kuhl, Sandy Przybyla, Patrick Fallot

Joseph C Makarewicz

A hydrologic model (SWAT) was developed and calibrated for the Oak Orchard watershed to evaluate sources and sinks of sediment and nutrients. The model included the most important anthropogenic features that impacted water flow and nonpoint source pollution in the watershed. These features included reservoirs at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Waterport and Medina; point sources such as the Erie Canal, US Gypsum, Allen Canning, wastewater treatment plants at Medina, Oakfield and Elba, and tiledrains at the mucklands, an intensely farmed area that was drained to combat malaria in the 19th century. The model included point sources for every subbasin …

Loading Of Nutrients From North Shore Tributaries Of Oneida Lake: Black, Crandell, Dakins, Little Bay And Black, Crandell, Dakins, Little Bay And Threemile Creeks Oswego County, N.Y., Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

The 2002 Oneida Lake and tributary monitoring program of the Oswego Soil and Water Conservation District (SCWD) is an expansion of the monitoring program that took place in the southern region tributaries of Oneida Lake from 1999 to 2000 by the Central New York Regional Planning Board (CNYRPB)(See Makarewicz and Lewis 2000a, 2003). Phase I of the 2002-2003 program of the CNYRPB involved sampling at the base of the primary tributaries flowing into Oneida Lake (including Big Bay, Scriba, East Branch of Fish, Lower Fish, Wood, Oneida, Cowaselon, Canaseraga, Chittenango, Limestone, and Butternut Creeks). As an extension of the Oneida …

Update Of Soil And Nutrient Loss From Subwatersheds Of Conesus Lake - 2001, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

The State of Conesus Lake: Watershed Characterization Report (2001) identified areas that required additional data to evaluate the current state of the Conesus Lake watershed. A comprehensive update of nutrient and soil loss from all of the major subwatersheds from a study undertaken in 1990-91 (Makarewicz et al. 1991) was listed as a high priority. This study was designed to estimate discrete losses of total phosphorus and total suspended solids in eighteen subwatersheds during the calendar period April to December under both baseline and event conditions. Results of this study will be the ability to assess the change in nutrient …

Chemical Analysis And Nutrient Loading Of Streams Entering Conesus Lake, N.Y With Sections On I. Status Of Conesus Lake I I. Crayfish As Control Agents Of Macrophytes, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis, Ronald Dilcher, Michael Letson, Norma Puckett

Joseph C Makarewicz

A program of research was developed at the State University of New York at Brockport's Department of Biological Sciences to investigate the causes of decreasing water transparency and increased salt levels in some streams draining into Conesus Lake and to identify watersheds and sources of. fertilizers that may be polluting the lake and causing increased abundance of "weeds". It has been supported by New York State, Livingston County, the Villages of Avon and Geneseo and the Town of Livonia and many private citizens. The thrust of the research has been to gather and synthesize information necessary to determine the physical …

Seasonal And Vertical Distribution, Food Web Dynamics And Contaminant Biomagnification Of Cercopagis Pengoi In Lake Ontario, Joseph Makarewicz, Elizabeth Damaske, Corey Laxson, Hugh Macisaac, Ivan Grigorovich

Joseph C Makarewicz

During the early growth season of 1999 to 2001, Cercopagis abundance in offshore waters of Lake Ontario remained low (less than 30 individuals/m3). From late July, its abundance increased rapidly until it peaked during August. After first appearing in 1998, maximum offshore abundance in Lake Ontario decreased each year since 1999 (1999:1759/m3; 2000: 679/m3; 2001: 355/m3). Cercopagis appears not to migrate below the thermocline and is restricted to the epilimnion. A comparison of pre- and post-invasion average abundance of Daphnia retrocurva, Bosmina longirostris and Diacyclops thomasi suggests that Cercopagis is having a major effect on zooplankton composition and abundance in …

Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, Macrobenthos And Lchthyoplankton Abundance, Biomass And Species Composition In Onondaga Lake, 1994, Joseph Makarewicz, Bruce Cady, Theodore Lewis, Joseph Buttner, James Haynes

Joseph C Makarewicz

Once a pristine recreational center and a productive fishery that supplied New York City markets with fresh fish, Onondaga Lake is now considered one of the most badly degraded bodies of water in the entire world (Sage 1993). The Onondaga Lake Management Conference was established to develop a comprehensive restoration, conservation, and management plan for Onondaga Lake that recommends priority corrective actions and a compliance schedule for cleanup of the lake. Biological assessment of the lake has been infrequent and concentrated on a few biological groups. This study either updates or establishes baseline characteristics for the following biological components of …

Oswego River Oswego County, New York, Joseph Makarewicz, Matthew Nowak

Joseph C Makarewicz

The Oswego River is the second largest river flowing into Lake Ontario, draining 5,100 square miles of land. The watershed includes all of Seneca County, most of Onondaga, Cayuga, Tompkins, Schuyler, Yates and Ontario Counties, and large portions of Oswego, Oneida, Madison and Wayne Counties in New York State. Most of the New York Finger Lakes are in the drainage basin of the Oswego River, and land use ranges from heavy agriculture in the Finger Lakes region to urban development in Oswego. The Oswego River Harbor is the largest Oswego County embayment and is vital to the shipping industry due …

Oak Orchard Creek Watershed The Location Of Sources Of Pollution, Annual Loss Of Nutrients And Soil To Lake Ontario, And A Test Of Effectiveness Of Zone Tillage As A Best Management Practice, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

Oak Orchard Creek is on New York State’s “303(d)” (1972 Clean Water Act) list of impaired water bodies. Waters designated as 303(d) do not meet water quality standards that states, territories, and authorized tribes have set for them, even after point sources of pollution have installed the minimum required levels of pollution control technology. A 303(d) designation may require the eventual development of Total Maximum Daily Loading (TMDL) for a watershed as a mechanism of managing nutrient losses from a watershed. Funding was received by the Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District from the Environmental Protection Agency to implement …

The Loss Of Nutrients And Materials From Watersheds Draining Into Lake Neatahwanta Oswego County, Ny, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

Here we report on the status of Lake Neatahwanta and losses of materials and nutrients from the various watersheds draining into the lake. Since 1994, Oswego Soil and Water Conservation District has begun several projects, Best Management Practices, to remediate and reduce loss of nutrients in the watershed. These include installation of rock rip-rap below the gaging station and the confluence of the Summerville and Sheldon Creeks, the installation of rock rip-rap in the drainage path near the gaging station on Sheldon Creek and the installation of fencing preventing cows from entering Sheldon Creek upstream from the gaging station at …

Long Pond Monroe County, New York, Joseph Makarewicz, Matthew Nowak

Joseph C Makarewicz

Long Pond, located on Lake Ontario near Rochester, New York, is surrounded by a mix of residential development, state park, and protected wildlife areas. Land use within the watershed is a mix of suburbia, including the Village of Spencerport, and agriculture. The waters of Long Pond are considered hypereutrophic, meaning it is very productive due to high nutrient loading. This productivity is likely due to nonpoint sources and the point source represented by the Spencerport Sewage Treatment Plant which releases advanced secondary sewage effluent into a tributary of Long Pond (Makarewicz 2000). Nuisance algae, bacterial abundance, and algal mat development …

Nutrient Loading And Segment Analysis Of Streams Entering Lake Neatahwanta: With An Evaluation Of The Muckland Demonstration Project In Oswego County, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

Here we report on the status of Lake Neatahwanta and losses of materials and nutrients from the various watersheds draining into the lake based on work done over the past five years. The conclusion that Sheldon Creek and its watershed are the dominant source of sediments and nutrients to Lake Neatahwanta is inescapable. Based on this conclusion, an effort know as segment analysis has begun in the Sheldon Creek watershed to systematically analyze the watershed for sources of nutrient and soil loss. Preliminary results of the segment analysis currently underway are presented. Finally, we provide results from the muckland demonstration …

Oak Orchard Creek Watershed : The Location Of Sources Of Pollution, Annual Loss Of Nutrients And Soil To Lake Ontario, And A Test Of Effectiveness Of Zone Tillage As A Best Management Practice, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

Oak Orchard Creek watershed : the location of sources of pollution, annual loss of nutrients and soil to Lake Ontario, and a test of effectiveness of zone tillage as a best management practice. May 2009

A report to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-56).

Nutrient And Sediment Loss From The Watersheds Of Orleans County: Johnson, Oak Orchard And Sandy Creek Watersheds. June 1997- June 1998, Joseph Makarewicz, Theodore Lewis

Joseph C Makarewicz

Three Orleans County tributaries were intensely monitored for one year (5 June 1997 to 4 June 1998) with automated gaging and samnpling stations installed on Oak Orchard, Johnson and Sandy Creeks. This sampling regime allows an accurate measurement of discharge, nutrient and sediment loss from the watersheds during both event and nonevent conditions. Discharge and concentrations of nitrate, total phosphorus, sodium, total suspended solids, and total kjeldahl nitrogen were measured and converted into the amount of material lost from each watershed.

Braddock Bay Monroe County, New York, Joseph Makarewicz, Matthew Nowak

Joseph C Makarewicz

Braddock Bay, located just west of Rochester, NY, is one of Lake Ontario’s larger embayments. The bay is open to wave action from Lake Ontario, differentiating it from several other embayments such as Port and Sodus Bays. Braddock Bay is located in the 2,500-acre Braddock Bay Fish and Wildlife Management Area; is a major waterfowl and migratory bird nesting, resting, and feeding habitat; has 541 boat slips; and is a major access point to the lake from the southern shore. The Braddock Bay watershed contains a mix of residential development, state park, and protected wildlife areas. Nuisance algae, bacterial abundance, …