CAYUGA LAKE WATERSHED winter 2007 Network News INSIDE... American Landscape at Its Best: PAGE 2... Watershed the Cayuga Lake Watershed Steward’s Message by Tai Wei Lim Sustaining Our ayuga Lake or “Boat Precious Water Landing” in Indian lan- Resources: 2007 Essay Cguage is a sprawling lake Contest Topic that is fed by five tributaries at the southern end of the PAGE 3... Oil and Sewerage lake. A wide expanse of aque- and Trash, Oh My! ous space, Cayuga Lake has 95 miles of shoreline, 66 Arctic Snow Geese square miles of surface area, Visit and a depth of 435 feet. It is PAGE 4... Groundwater the longest of the Finger Lakes in Central New York. PAGE 5... How Does Water Below are just some of the Circulate? Canada geese don’t seem to mind the low winter water levels that ways in which the watershed exposed this old dock. Why Should We Care has given variety and enter- tainment value to my life, on top of being a real-life laboratory to observe the disparate About Groundwater? species of flying creatures that soar through the skies. PAGE 7... Lakefest 2006 a Great Success Nature’s Sanctuary Going on trips to spot migratory birds like waterfowls along the Atlantic Flyway is Meet the Board rewarded by the actual sightings of these mysterious creatures that follow their instincts PAGE 8... Announcements to accomplish their calling in life. These birds are not alone as they are joined by Canada geese, ducks, loons which stopped at Cayuga Lake while searching for warmer weathers during the cold winter season. The transitional pit-stop function of the Lake makes the Watershed a living aviary for bird-watching enthusiasts. The birds also make an immediate impact on my life as its waters teemed with food serves the needs of seagulls which then fly near my resident. They are a constant reminder of the co-existence of my habitat with other creatures that remains are land- marks on my very doorstep. As I look at these creatures brought here by the promise of an inland Lake’s potential for food, I am reminded of Man’s place and position in the biodiversity of the world. It is a reminder of how sensitive and fragile the entire system is and that it should not be taken for granted. To immortalize these thoughts, I sketched the outlines of the seagulls and admire the snow white flock that they have with their to the apparent apathy vicissitudes of life. NRCS continued on page 6 WATERSHED STEWARD’S MESSAGE ith our busy lives it’s easy to have things that are out rest of the environment will be pro- of sight be out of mind. So this issue of Network tected too. Of course, this is good for WNews focuses on an unseen resource and an often people and everything else that lives unseen problem. Groundwater is the drinking water source on good old Mother Earth.” One way for about 50 percent of the people who live in this water- to protect groundwater and our lake shed, including almost everyone who lives in rural areas. and streams is to find and eliminate Understanding what groundwater is and how it moves something known as “illicit dis- helps us protect it and better management water resources. charges”.Remember the connection There are three articles that work together to explain between groundwater and surface water as you read about groundwater and aquifers. This information will provide a illegal activities in “Oil and Sewerage and Trash, Oh My!”. good foundation for the focus of our spring issue, flooding. On behalf of the staff and Board of the Cayuga Lake I hope you will only read about flooding this spring and Watershed Network, I wish you a healthy and prosperous not actually experience it. New Year, According to the Groundwater Foundation “…if Sharon Anderson groundwater is protected chances are very good that the Sustaining Our Precious Water Resources: 2007 Essay Contest Topic ick up a pen or sit down at your computer and start whole class to learn about environmental science, writing drafting your essay for the 7th Annual Essay Contest! and communities. PThis year the topic is “Sustaining Our Precious Water Visit www.cayugalake.org for complete contest rules Resources: What can an individual do? What can the and an on-line contest entry form. While web-based government do?” submissions are strongly encouraged, printed copies and Essays, due by March 30, 2007, should e-mail submissions are also accepted. focus on the Cayuga Lake Watershed and Enter in one of three Contact the Watershed Network office at can address a variety of questions. Ideas categories for a chance to 607-532-4104 or [email protected] include how individuals can protect local win cash prizes and to see for further information or to request a drinking water sources, steps to enhance fish your words printed here printed copy of the contest rules. and wildlife habitat, benefits of measuring in Network News and on Original ideas contained in prize- water quality, steps for controlling our website. winning essays may inspire others to exercise agricultural or storm-water runoff, and the • Students grades 6-8, greater diligence in protecting our Cayuga role of government in protecting Cayuga 500-word limit Lake Watershed. Winning essays will be Lake and its surrounds. How about writing (1st prize $75, 2nd prize published on the Cayuga Lake Watershed a story celebrating what you or someone $30, 3rd prize $10) Network website www.cayugalake.org and else has actually done? • Students grades 9-12, excerpts will appear in the Cayuga Lake If you know students or teachers at the 1000-word limit Watershed Network News. Prizes are middle through high school level, please (1st prize $150) provided courtesy of Goulds Pumps in encourage them to participate in the • Adults, 2000-word limit Seneca Falls, and the Cayuga Lake Watershed Annual Essay Contest as a way for the (1st prize $250). Network. S Sharon Anderson, Cayuga Lake PHONE NUMBERS: F Office 607-532-4104 Watershed Steward Watershed Network Fax 607-532-4108 F [email protected] 8408 Main St., PO Box 303 OFFICE HOURS: A Diane Emmons, Interlaken, NY 14847 Mon.–Thur., 9:00am to 2:00pm T Office Manager www.cayugalake.org Other Hours by Appointment [email protected] S 2 Oil and Sewerage and Trash, Oh My! By Sharon Anderson, Watershed Steward isconnected drain pipes, illegally dumped trash, a fail- discharges that need to be eliminated once they are found. ing septic system, and used motor oil dumped on the The Stormwater Coalition is working to help munici- Mground have a lot in common. Grouped together as palities comply with New York State’s stormwater regula- “illicit discharges”,all of these can send pollution to our tions. One portion of the regulations requires an IDDE waterways. While trash dumped in a roadside ditch is an program. Through the winter and spring, a series of pro- eye sore as well as a hazard, most grams will train volunteers, illicit discharges are invisible. municipal officials and agency The Stormwater Coalition of staff to ferret out illicit dis- Tompkins County, of which the charges. Other communities Watershed Network is a mem- working with IDDE have found ber, has an ambitious plan to pipe connections accidentally bring these problems to light. R N The aim is to have these often D I W hidden sources of contamination : t i d identified and then eliminated. e r The two companion steps are C jointly referred to as Illicit Discharge Detection and “Outfall” is the name given to pipes such as this Elimination (IDDE). one that drain directly to a creek. Whatever gets washed or dumped into a storm drain or road side drainage ditch crossed during goes untreated to a nearby waterway. Chemicals, trash, and construction Storm drains carry more than water untreated to disease-causing organisms (such as viruses and bacteria) and building our waterways flow directly to a tributary that then flows to Cayuga Lake. floor drains that are so old no one remembered where they These pollutants can enter the food chain harming fish, drain to. Often the offenders don’t even know there is a other aquatic life and people’s health. problem and therefore the approach will be focused on Stormwater regulations define an illicit discharge as education and correction. “any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is You can help by supporting your community’s efforts not composed entirely of stormwater.”A few discharges to control and correct illicit discharges. In the warmer such as from fire fighting activities are exempt. So what isn’t weather, join the Watershed Network on stream and exempt? Picture a pipe sticking out of the side of a creek shoreline cleanups. Maintain the septic system, if you have bank dripping with green antifreeze or paint thinner one, and properly dispose of household trash. Hazardous someone dumped into the storm drain on an urban street. materials such as excess paint, paint thinner, motor oil, Consider a septic tank that has rusted out and allows antifreeze, pesticides or other common household sewage to seep into the lake. Imagine the floor drain from a chemicals should not be poured down storm drains or on business that is piped to a roadside ditch, and the resident the ground. Many should not be dumped down household who tosses a bag of stinky trash along the side of a rural drains either, even if you are connected to a municipal lane. Think about a leaking municipal sewer line spewing water treatment facility.