With Chautauqua Lake having been no exception to the rise of harmful algaes, many that monitor lake conditions are hopeful that this information could help lead to better water conditions in Chautauqua .

The guidelines were released in early anticipation of World Water Day on March 22, in hopes of addressing the growing issue of HABs. DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said the roadmap will contain information to help with both short and long-term management strategies, serving as a guide for everybody that utilizes the watershed. Lefton noted that this will benefit the DEC, the public, and researchers and help to further the statewide mission to address HABs and their water quality impacts on habitat, drinking water, recreation, and local economies.

“This new Roadmap lays out an action agenda over the next five years to address harmful algal blooms to protect our water resources, public health and local economies across the state,” Lefton said. “I commend all the DEC team and many partners for this thoughtful approach that ties together monitoring, management, research, mitigation, and reporting efforts into a comprehensive five-year plan.”

Lefton broke down the HAB Roadmap into six focus areas. Monitoring and Assessment is the first of these areas, which will focus on developing and implementing monitored approaches for HAB indicators to characterize presence, abundance, and improve the application of data

More lake management organizations are pictured. P-J photos by Owen Reed

Water Quality Standards and Guidance Values is the next important focus area and includes identifying key HAB parameters and developing regulatory thresholds if necessary. Planning and Implementation is the third focus of the guidelines, advocating for expanding and developing existing clean water planning mechanisms and implementation programs to reduce HABs and their impacts. General and In-Waterbody Mitigation Research is another aspect, aiming to focus on conducting and advancing HAB research to better understanding and responses. Similarly to the last, Permitting In-Waterbody Mitigation Practices will clarify and improve communication of existing permitting pathways for HAB mitigation and move toward development of an efficient and adaptive approach. The final aspect is Public Outreach and Reporting, which will see reporting conducted on HAB monitoring and research to ensure continued transparency of DEC efforts.

Such efforts continue to complement many of the efforts on Chautauqua Lake. After a difficult last summer for lake conditions, researchers from North Carolina State University and the Jefferson Project have continued to advance research and management strategies to better protect the watershed. With efforts that will aid in this situation being advanced at the state level, local watershed organizations seemed encouraged at the continuing progress and awareness surrounding HABs.

“Harmful algal blooms are a high priority for Chautauqua Lake along with water bodies across the state, nation, and globe. It is encouraging that New York is continuing to invest in not only researching HABs but also identifying meaningful and practical ways to reduce them and mitigate their impacts,” said Randall Perry, Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance executive director. “Chautauqua Lake is strongly and uniquely positioned to seize on any new opportunities to tackle our HAB challenges given our foundation of world-class research, federal and state involvement, and local capacity and collaboration.”

Though Lefton stated that the DEC is making substantial progress in researching and monitoring HABs, the blooms continue to present unique challenges due to the wide-ranging potential human and environmental health impacts. Though many HABs may thrive in nutrient rich waters or low-nutrient water, and may form or move rapidly, further complicating research and management. Currently, the DEC has awarded about $614 million in grants to support the research and management of HABs. As both state and local governments continue to focus efforts on reducing HABs, residents can feel safer knowing that it is a point of priority to protect the lake and valuable watersheds.