Cliches become a cliche for a reason, as author William Gibson is credited with saying, because there is always a bit of truth in them.

If there’s one cliche in the discussion over Chautauqua Lake and its weed problems, it’s the one repeated by Dr. Allison Hyrcik of the Jefferson Project during a recent presentation to the Chautauqua County Legislature. When asked by Legislator Bob Bankoski, D-Dunkirk, what the county should do to help prevent a large weed problem in 2026, Hyrcik said, “It’s a great question, but the thing is we’ve taken a couple hundred years to get to this point. We can’t fix it in five years.”

Ah yes, the tried but true “no quick fixes” line. To its credit, the Jefferson Project is a relative newcomer to Chautauqua Lake. And, for those who have heard that particular line three or four hundred times over the past 25-30 years, Hyrcik’s line is the most familiar of the Chautauqua Lake cliches. It is, indeed, true. Chautauqua Lake’s fortunes won’t be reversed overnight.

But simply trotting out perhaps the most well-used of Chautauqua Lake phrases lets policy makers, decision makers and the lake organizations that are working on the lake’s weed and algal bloom problems off the hook by pushing the goalposts out decades into the future. It will take time to see real progress on Chautauqua Lake. But people are running out of patience. It reminds us of another cliche, this one courtesy of Henry Ford, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

It was Ford’s early desire to experiment, tinker and innovate that led to his success. In that vein, it’s why there is some excitement behind changes to the board of the Chautauqua Lake Watershed and Management Alliance. It’s why we’re glad to see that the newest contract with the Jefferson Project includes language to provide a prescription for a pilot project to see if the Jefferson Project can identify enough from the last five years of information to recommend a project on Chautauqua Lake that goes a step beyond further data collection and study. At some point soon, A.J. Reyes, a lake consultant hired by the Chautauqua Lake Watershed and Management Alliance, will present recommendations.

Hopefully, rather than relying on the tried, true and tired “no quick fixes” cliches, south county residents will start hearing about turning a corner or better days being ahead.

Samuel Goldwyn, the famed Polish-born American film producer, once said “let’s have some new cliches.” When it comes to Chautauqua Lake, we couldn’t agree more.