BFS Technical Report #30 THE STATE OF CANADARAGO LAKE, 2011 MATTHEW F. ALBRIGHT HOLLY A. WATERFIELD Submitted by W.N. HARMAN SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station 5838 St. Hwy. 80 Cooperstown, NY 13326 February 2012 BFS Technical Report #30 THE STATE OF CANADARAGO LAKE, 2011 MATTHEW F. ALBRIGHT HOLLY A. WATERFIELD Submitted by W.N. HARMAN SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station 5838 St. Hwy. 80 Cooperstown, NY 13326 February 2012 Available Online at: http://bfs.oneonta.edu (see “Publications”) http://www.otsegosoilandwater.com Table of Contents Preface……………………………………………………………………………………………1 Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………..1 Introduction…………………..……………………………………………………………………4 Geology………………………………………………………………………………………7 Land use……………………………………………………………………………………..7 Climate………………………………………………………………………………………12 Socioeconomic characteristics…………………..……………………………………………12 Municipal wastewater treatment……………………….………………………………………13 Tributary monitoring……………………………………………………………………………….14 Physical water quality…………………………………………………………………………15 Dissolved oxygen………………………………………………………….……………15 Specific conductance and pH……………………………………………………………18 Chemical water quality………………………………………………………….……………19 Major ions………………………………………………………………………………19 Major plant nutrients………………………………………………………………………………20 Nitrogen………………………………………………………………………………20 Phosphorus………………………………………………………………………………22 Storm runoff……………………………………………………………………………………………24 Stream macroinvertebrates………………………………………………………………………………28 Bacteria……………………………………………………………………………………………37 Tributaries……………………………………………………………………………………………39 Lake……………………………………………………………………………………………41 Lake monitoring………………………………………………………………………………42 Physical limnology………………………………………………………………………………42 Interpretation of isopleth graphs……………………………………………………43 Temperature………………………………………………………………………………44 Transparency………………………………………………………………… 45 Dissolved oxygen…………………………………………………………………48 Chemical limnology………………………………………………………………… 51 Nutrients………………………………………………………………………………51 Phosphorus…………………………………………………………………51 Nitrogen…………………………………………………………………53 Phytoplankton community and chlorophylla………………………………………………………………………………57 Phytoplankton species and community characteristics……………………………………………………57 Chlorophylla……………………………………………………………………………………………60 Zooplankton……………………………………………………………………………… 64 Aquatic macrophytes (plants)…………………………………………………………………71 References……………………………………………………………………………… 82 Fisheries survey of Canadarago Lake, NY (from Brooking et al. 2012)…………………………………………………………………86 Appendix A. Canadarago Lake Beneficial Use Study - Executive Summary……………………………………………………108 Appendix B. Physiochemical water quality data: tributaries……………………………………………………114 Appendix C. Major ion concentrations: 1968-1972……………………………………………………116 Appendix D. Nutrient concentrations: tributaries……………………………………………………117 Appendix E. Physiochemical water quality data: lake…………………………………………………………………119 Appendix F. Nutrient concentrations: lake…………………………………………………………………122 The State of Canadarago Lake, 2011 Preface This contribution, The State of Canadarago Lake, 2011 is the culmination of a multi- sponsored contract awarded to the State University of New York College at Oneonta’s Biological Field Station through the Otsego County Soil and Water Conservation District. It compares conditions documented through the late 1970s by Harr et al. (1980) with those of 2008 to 2010 and is intended to provide information that may help guide decisions related to the management and protection of Canadarago Lake. Partners contributing to this project include Senator James Seward, Assemblyman William Magee, Otsego County Board of Representatives, the Canadarago Lake Improvement Association, and the Town Boards of Richfield, Otsego and Exeter. The section entitled “Fisheries Surveys of Canadarago Lake, NY” was compiled by Brooking et al. (2012) of the Cornell Warmwater Fisheries Unit, with input from the NYSDEC, and is provided here in its entirety (p. 86). Executive Summary Canadarago Lake is a 770 ha (1,903 ac) waterbody located in Otsego County, New York. It is eutrophic; it tends to support high production of algae and rooted plants and its hypolimnion (deep water) looses oxygen during the summer. By the early 1970s, high algal production had substantially degraded the lake. At that time algal production was recognized to be limited, or controlled, by the presence of phosphorus in the lake; the addition of that nutrient would stimulate further algal growth. Also, the relative amounts (ratio) of nitrogen and phosphorus influence the amount and types of algae that are present. In 1973, the Village of Richfield Springs upgraded its wastewater treatment plant to include phosphorus removal; that, coupled with the New York State high phosphate detergent ban in the same year, reduced phosphorus loading to the lake by nearly 50% (see Municipal wastewater treatment, p. 13). The resultant reduction of phosphorus in the lake has been credited with improving conditions considerably. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in nearly all the major tributaries decreased between the 1970s and 2010 (see Tributary monitoring, Major plant nutrients, p. 20). The exception is that nitrate levels in Ocquionis Creek, below the wastewater treatment plant’s discharge, were higher in recent years than they had been in the 1970s. This increase in nitrate concentration reflects the treatment plant’s effective conversion of ammonia to nitrate. Participation by the agricultural community in USDA-sponsored best management projects and water quality improvement strategies may be, in part, credited with these watershed-wide improvements (see Land use, p. 7). Herkimer Creek has the best water quality during baseline conditions, but it, along with Hyder Creek, delivers considerably more suspended sediment, total phosphorus and total nitrogen (per unit area of its drainage basin) than do Hyder Creek and Ocquionis Creek (not including inputs from the wastewater treatment plant) following heavy rains (see Land runoff – nutrient contributions, p. 24). In an evaluation of water quality based on the types of benthic invertebrate communities present in the creek beds (bottom-living insects, - 1 - The State of Canadarago Lake, 2011 mollusks, crayfish, etc.), Herkimer Creek appears to be the most degraded, Ocquionis Creek the least degraded, and Trout Brook and Hyder Creek both moderately degraded (see Stream macroinvertebrates p. 28). Phosphorus loading to the lake has decreased since the 1970s, but there is currently conflicting evidence as to whether phosphorus or nitrogen limits algal production. Concentrations of both nutrients are lower than what is typically found in lakes exhibiting eutrophic characteristics (Wetzel 2001). The ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus suggests which of those two nutrients appears to be the most limiting to algal growth. Ratios determined in the spring, before algae take up nutrients for their growth, imply that phosphorus may be limiting (TN:TP = 40). The form of nitrogen available to living organisms, (mainly nitrate N) is depleted during summer, suggesting limitation by that nutrient. Algal communities are also influenced by conditions such as temperature and nutrient concentrations, so shifts in nutrient limitation can be inferred from changes in the types of algae present. A recent shift in the algal community toward an increased prevalence of nitrogen fixing blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) (see Phytoplankton community and chlorophylla, p. 57) also implies seasonal nitrogen limitation. The changes in the community could also be influenced by the establishment of zebra mussels (see later paragraph). Total nitrogen concentrations in recent years are similar to those reported in the 1970s. At that time, in the summer months, ammonia was reportedly the main fraction whereas in recent years it was virtually absent in all but the deepest, anoxic waters. There was no reduction in overall nitrogen loading from the wastewater treatment plant; however, upgrades to the treatment plant resulted in the conversion of ammonia to nitrate. This conversion decreased ammonia, which is potentially toxic to aquatic organisms, and increased the concentrations of nitrate released to Ocquionis Creek. Management projects in the watershed that would reduce nitrogen in the lake, without corresponding decreases in phosphorus, should be carefully evaluated as they affect the N:P ratio and might actually favor the growth of undesirable cyanobacteria, which can thrive under low nitrate conditions. The character of Canadarago Lake has been strongly influenced by the establishment of three known aquatic nuisance species in recent years. In 2002 zebra mussels (Driessena polymorpha) were first documented (Horvath and Lord 2003). This exotic bivalve is an effective filter feeder and was likely influential in the increase in water transparency from 2002 through 2009 (see Transparency, p. 45). However, its tendency to preferentially filter desirable algae may be allowing cyanobacteria and filamentous green algae to proliferate due to reduced competition (see Phytoplankton community and chlorophylla, p. 57). Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), a non-native plankton-eating forage fish, was first documented in 1999 but only recently has become a dominant part of the lake community (see Fisheries section, p. 86; Brooking et al. 2012). Alewife can upset the trophic balance of a waterbody by reducing the abundance and average size of zooplankton (see Zooplankton p. 64), which in turn can decrease - 2 - The State of Canadarago Lake, 2011