In response to an editorial written by members of the Chautauqua Lake Partnership and published Sunday, the Chautauqua Institution denied that their drinking water was contaminated with a herbicide ingredient and detailed a contingency plan for drinking water if their intake area ever becomes contaminated.

On June 10, the day before SOLitude performed herbicide treatments on 81 acres of Chautauqua Lake, CLP reported finding traces of triclopyr, an ingredient in some aquatic herbicides, in the intake area for Chautauqua Institution’s drinking water. The CLP expressed concern as to why Chautauqua Institution did not inform their residents about the tests.

Through the Chautauqua County Department of Health, Chautauqua Institution’s drinking water provider, the Chautauqua Utility District, sent samples of raw and filtrated water from the intake area to an independent lab called the Pacific Agricultural Laboratory based in Sherwood, Oregon.

CUD Superintendent Michael Starks said the lab found no remnants of triclopyr in the water. The lack of contamination via triclopyr or other substances found by the lab and CUD was found as reason enough not to alarm residents.

“Our lab was a certified lab,” said Starks, who mentioned they wanted a third-party opinion on the possible contamination before considering informing residents about the CLP’s findings of triclopyr.

“Public health is number one,” Starks said.

Starks said that the CUD would notify Chautauqua Institution about any potential dangers found in drinking water. If contamination ever occurred, CUD also has in place a contingency plan to make the water safe for drinking. CUD would call in a contracted company to install a temporary activated carbon filter, which removes unwanted contaminants and pumps safe water.

CUD’s water tanks can also be emptied in order to get rid of any possible contaminants. Starks said they have other contingencies including other sources of water if the carbon filter was not enough to solve any future problems.

The CUD contingency plans are required by state law every three years to be updated. The most recent update of the vulnerability assessment, which includes all contingencies, was submitted to the New York State Department of Health in December.

“We would have informed our community,” said Emily Morris, vice president for marketing and communications at Chautauqua Institution, regarding any danger in their water supply.

Both her and John Shedd, vice president of campus planning and operations, said the CUD reported nothing problematic. They had also felt that since CLP’s test that found triclopyr was not certified, they had to find out more information for themselves. They also mentioned that the CLP informed them about the triclopyr they said they found after herbicide treatments were completed.

In response to the CLP calling Chautauqua Lake an “impaired water body,” Shedd said that it is considered a class A lake, which allows it to be used as a source for drinking water.

Shedd and Morris found other statements in CLP’s Sunday editorial to be false. They do not recall calling themselves the sole steward of the lake as the CLP described. They also said they don’t intend to take away the rights of towns and villages through their lawsuit against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the town of Ellery.

“We are a steward of Chautauqua Lake,” Shedd said. “We’re all stewards of the lake. Our lawsuit does nothing of the sort.”

Shedd reiterated that they want potential problems in the process to approve herbicide applications to go away. They feel that Chautauqua Institution did not get a voice at public forums to express their concerns.

“(The lawsuit) was our last resort in trying to make this process appropriate,” Shedd said. “We don’t believe one entity … should have the ability to be the lead agent.”

Shedd said the goal of the lawsuit is to get equal representation amongst the towns and villages in Chautauqua County by showing the need for a county agency to lead the approach on herbicides. He also believes herbicides are a short-term solution and that a comprehensive approach, which will include stormwater management practices like the rain gardens, no mow zones and erosion control methods, is needed alongside herbicide treatments.

A major concern is how much herbicides could drift out of the acreage in which they are permitted to be used, something Shedd said the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement did not properly address. Shedd thinks all of Chautauqua Lake should be potable and that residents should be able to rely on that. Shedd said Chautauqua Institution would like the DEC to discover how much drift would be an issue and put that information in a statement of findings for where the permits for herbicide treatments are issued.

“We’re concerned about the entire lake; we have a very deep interest in this entire county and community,” Shedd said.

Shedd also responded to comments he’s heard that have labeled Chautauqua Institution’s pending lawsuit as divisive. He believes it isn’t because it aims to make the process of considering and applying herbicides more transparent. He also expressed concern that the CLP is characterizing Chautauqua Institution as an organization against solutions.

“We believe (the lawsuit)’s a way to make this a more open discussion,” Shedd said. “We would hope that the CLP can join all of the other lake organizations including Chautauqua Institution in our efforts for a long-term comprehenssive approach for stormwater management to improve Chautauqua Lake.”