WATER QUALITY OF THE EIGHT EASTERN FINGER LAKES, NEW YORK: 2005 – 2016. John D. Halfman Department of Geoscience, Environmental Studies Program & Finger Lakes Institute Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY 14456
[email protected] 12/31/2016 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The eleven Finger Lakes of western and central New York are critical to the health, well- being and economy of the region. The range in trophic status, size, water residence times, bedrock geology, land use characteristics, and other features revealed by the FLs present an ideal natural laboratory to investigate a wide range of water quality issues, many pertinent to the Great Lakes. Professor John Halfman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges has maintained a water quality monitoring program of the eight eastern Finger Lakes for the Finger Lakes Institute since 2005 (Honeoye, Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles, & Otisco). The program collected and analyzed monthly CTD profiles, plankton tows, Secchi disk depths, most recently, (2016) fluoroprobe profiles, and surface and bottom water samples for nutrient (TP, SRP, NO3, Si), chlorophyll-a, total suspended solids, and major ion analyses back in the laboratory at a minimum of two mid-lake, deep-water sites in each lake. Selected stream analyses and two autonomous water quality and meteorological monitoring buoys deployed in the Seneca and Owasco watersheds provide additional data to better understand the limnology and water quality issues in these lakes. Relative ranks of the surface water data indicated that Skaneateles, Canandaigua and Keuka Lakes have the best water quality (ultra-oligotrophic to oligotrophic), Honeoye and Otisco Lakes have the worst water quality (eutrophic to borderline mesotrophic-eutrophic), and Seneca, Cayuga and Owasco Lakes were in between these end-members (borderline oligotrophic-mesotrophic to mesotrophic).