USGS Lake Levels Publication

Managing the Water Resources of the Oswego River Basin in Central New York INTRODUCTION PHYSIOGRAPHY OF THE geographic area that plays a vital role OSWEGO RIVER BASIN in the flow regime of the Basin is The Oswego River Basin in the Clyde/Seneca River and Oneida The Oswego River Basin has Lake Troughs, two belts of lowlands central New York State contains a an area of 5,100 square miles running west-to-east through which diverse system of streams, lakes, and encompasses three physiographic the Barge Canal flows. The troughs and canals. Water flows from upland provinces — the Appalachian Plateau, are key to understanding the Oswego the Tug Hill Plateau, and the Lake streams to the Finger Lakes, then River Basin flow system — its natural Ontario Plain (fig. 2). An additional and human-altered “plumbing”. to low-gradient rivers, which are part of the New York State Barge 77° 76° Canal, and ultimately to Lake Ontario (fig. 1). Although natural LAKE ONTARIO OSWEGO 8 and man-made components of this 7 6 5 OSWEGO RIVER 3 hydrologic system are known, how 2 A ONEID Oneida Lake 1RIVER ROME the system functions and how the ROCHESTER 21 Cross 23 24 22 components interact are not CLYDE RIVER Lake LOCK 30 29 SENECA 28A 27 26 Onondaga 43° RIVER SYRACUSE completely understood. This Fact 28B 25 Lake Sheet is a result of a shared interest CS1 Skaneateles Conesus Canandaigua CS4 CS2&3 Lake Otisco Lake Lake GENEVA AUBURN Lake on the part of U.S. Geological Honeoye Lake Seneca Lake Survey (USGS) and Finger Hemlock Owasco Canadice Lake Lake Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Lake Keuka Lake Cayuga Protection Alliance (FL-LOWPA) in OSWEGO Lake ITHACA RIVER WATKINS BASIN facilitating public understanding GLEN NEW and discussion of the complex YORK Oswego River Basin and its water- EXPLANATION resource-management issues. New York State Barge Canal Direction of flow 30 Barge Canal lock and number Figure 1. Location of major lakes and 0 25 MILES rivers, New York State Barge Canal, 0 25 KILOMETERS 42° and major cities within the Oswego Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:2,000,000, 1972. Albers Equal-Area Conic projection River basin in Central New York Standard parallels 29 30' and 45 30', central meridian -96 00'. Fact Sheet FS 180-99 U.S. Department of the Interior First printed March 2000 U.S. Geological Survey Revised February 2002 Clyde/Seneca River and Oneida 77° 76° 44° Lake Troughs 1000 The troughs are a product of 500 TUG HILL PLATEAU regional geology and glaciation. LAKE ONTARIO During and after the last Ice Age (ending about 14,000 years ago), glaciers carved-out erodible shales OSWEGO that lie north of the Lockport RIVER Dolomite bedrock “ridge” where A 500 Oneida Lake is located and between LAKE ONTARIO PLAIN ONEID 500 the Lockport “ridge” and the RIVER SENECA 500 1000 Onondaga Limestone “ridge” to the 43° CLYDE RIVER RIVER south, in which the Clyde and Seneca Rivers flow. The troughs were subsequently filled with mixtures of 1000 clay, silt, sand, and gravel from the receding glacier. The result created 2000 2000 flat, low-lying areas with many square miles of wetlands, some of which are now farmed as muckland. OSWEGO RIVER The New York State Barge Canal BASIN was constructed within the troughs APPALACHIAN PLATEAU because the gradient is exceptionally EXPLANATION NEW New York State Barge Canal 0 25 MILES YORK low. The Canal’s surface elevation Line of equal elevation drops only 23 feet in 60 miles along 0 25 KILOMETERS Barge Canal Lock the main stem between Locks 27 42° and 24. Before construction of the Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:2,000,000, 1972. Standard parallels 29 30' and 45 30', central meridian -96 00'. canal in the early 1800’s, the gradient averaged about 0.4 feet per mile; with the canal, the water-surface elevation Figure 2. Physiographic provinces of the Oswego River basin and generalized land- surface elevation changes in steps at each of the locks. The low gradient poses a challenge to water-resources management because the Mudlock gate-structure where the Lake drain to the Oneida Lake trough the natural and man-made gradient fall is only 9 feet. During some from the surrounding watershed, and inhibits the rapid movement of large major storm-runoff periods, the water- the additive contribution of these volumes of water. surface elevation in the Barge Canal lake outflows to the Barge Canal near Montezuma (just downstream results in a “bottleneck” at Three from the Cayuga Lake outlet) has Rivers junction (the confluence of the Effect of the Troughs on Basin exceeded the water-surface elevation Seneca, Oneida, and Oswego Rivers). Drainage in Cayuga Lake; and if the Mudlock This junction receives water from 96 gates had been open, water would percent of the Oswego River Basin Surface water and ground water in have flowed from the Barge Canal but is within the flattest, slowest- the Oswego River Basin flows from into Cayuga Lake. moving reach of the Barge Canal and upland watersheds to rivers and lakes The area near Montezuma receives the Oswego River Basin. At times, and then to the troughs containing about 48 percent of the runoff from inflow to the trough exceeds the the main stem of the New York State the Oswego River Basin’s 5,100 channel capacity and causes flooding Barge Canal. As illustrated in figure square miles. Further downstream (to within Seneca, Cayuga, and Oneida 3, water flows from the outlet of the east), the canal receives additional Lakes and along the Seneca and Keuka Lake to Seneca Lake, with water from the Owasco, Skaneateles, Oneida Rivers. The gradient in the a change in elevation of about 270 and Otisco Lake watersheds, which, Oswego River, downstream of Fulton, feet, and from Seneca Lake to Cayuga like Canandaigua Lake to the west, are increases markedly to 118 feet in 29 Lake with an elevation change of at higher elevations and drain readily miles (4 feet per mile), and allows about 60 feet, then from Cayuga to the Clyde/Seneca River trough. the water to flow more readily toward Lake to the Barge Canal through Similarly, the uplands around Oneida Lake Ontario. NOT A FLOODPLAIN PROBLEM, BUT A WATERSHED CONSIDERATION The amount of water that enters within the Oswego River Basin through more quickly. This in turn any Finger Lake from a storm depends (or any other basin) tend to be could erode denuded road banks, and on local watershed conditions. For looked upon as local water-level carry enlarged sediment loads to a example, when soils are saturated or issues, property issues, water-quality river or lake where the sediment frozen in the Cayuga Lake watershed, issues or single-use issues. The first is deposited as an alluvial fan that for every inch of water that falls on responsibility and challenge to water- clogs the mouth of the stream the watershed and runs off to the lake, resource managers and users is to and may cause flooding of nearby the lake level increases by one foot view all issues within the context of property. The town then excavates within 1 to 2 days, but once in the basin-wide management. Only when this sediment and removes more than lake, this amount of water can take the focus is on the entire system will was deposited to avoid the need to a week or more to fully drain to the the basin residents be able to define reexcavate in the near future. This Barge Canal because the lake level reasonable goals and work toward over excavation can begin a process can be lowered by only a tenth of a them. of stream erosion that may spread foot per day due to the low gradient Thus, water level, water-quantity, upstream into the watershed, causing of the Seneca River/Barge Canal and or water-quality problems within the further erosion of streambed and the difference in elevation between the Basin need to be considered on the streambanks. In this hypothetical River and Cayuga Lake. The natural a watershed basis, rather than as example, each individual action drainage within this basin, with its isolated problems along a particular benefits the local situation, but cumulative, rapidly flowing upland stretch of river or lake. As an the cumulative effect alters stream discharges and a slowly draining example, an upland farmer might conditions in the watershed, and outflow, poses difficulties for water- install drain tile to remove water can cause a natural process of level management. The New York from his fields so that he can work erosion and(or) deposition, which State Barge Canal Corporation uses the fields earlier in the season. This may be viewed in a detrimental way “control points” within the Oswego common practice can cause more from some perspectives. Whenever Basin to monitor and manage water water to flow into a nearby roadside a stream is disturbed locally, it levels. The management strategies of ditch, and prompt the town highway needs time to restore its gradient this system have been controversial department to deepen the ditch. The and streambank conditions, and if the for nearly a century because the increased flow from the ditch now disturbance (natural or man-made) is users desire differing water- could increase erosion and possibly large enough, the watershed can be level-management results. Reaching cause a downstream culvert to clog affected well beyond the initially- resolution is not simple, nor is any and cause localized flooding. The affected area, and can take a decade decision favorable to all.

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