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The state Department of Environmental Conservation is nearly finished with a document that should have
substantial influence on the way we maintain Chautauqua Lake in the future.
During a public meeting last week hosted by the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance, Chad
Staniszewski of the DEC's Region 9 office told those attending that the DEC expects to finish the internal loading
study within the next month or two with the plan possibly being released after review early in 2027.
The internal loading study could be the DEC's biggest contribution to Chautauqua Lake policy making since the
2012 Total Minimum Daily Load document, which showed just how far overboard Chautauqua Lake's phosphorus
load was and helped drive policy makers' decisions for the past 14 years. That includes, as we noted last week in
this space, the effort to finish constructing sewers around the lake to keep phosphorus and other nutrients from
reaching the lake through deteriorating septic systems around the lake as well as septic system evaluations when
properties in the county are sold. The TMDL is also an important document when it comes to working to reduce
agricultural-related phosphorus runoff from farms.
We've been focused for more than a decade on keeping nutrients from getting into the lake while knowing, in the
back of our minds, that something we are going to have to deal with is the nutrients that are already in the lake. It's
something that we expect will be part of the Army Corps of Engineers' recommendations for the lake when they are
eventually released for public review. And we look forward to seeing what the state DEC has to say about the
matter, too, when the internal loading study is released.
After the study comes a plan to deal with the nutrients in the lake and, ultimately, figuring out who carries out the plan. Staniszewski was asked that question during last week's meeting and was honest when he said he isn't sure which agency that will fall to. We may have to rethink our existing plans depending on what's in the internal loading study and ensuing plan. We don't want to speak for local organizations who already have their hands full, but in our view the real fight for Chautauqua Lake is dealing with the nutrients that are already here.
We've heard a lot from A.J. Reyes, GEI Consultants lead consultant for Chautauqua Lake, and lake agencies this year about the importance of flexibility. We couldn't agree more – but the internal loading plan may put that flexibility to the test.