Harmful Algal Blooms, or HABs, have been widespread there. While New York state is supposed to be doing assessments and comprehensive watershed cleanup of the blooms, it hasn’t been, according to Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting, an independent environmental monitor.
According to Hang’s just released data, which he obtained from the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation, while Cayuga Lake has more reported HABs than any other waterbody in the state, these blooms threaten critical drinking water sources for more than 10 million New Yorkers.
“There are 186 HABs so far this year in New York state,” Hang told Capital Tonight.
CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — Lawmakers, clean water advocates and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers all seem to agree: the 13-mile-long Scajaquada Creek that flows through Buffalo's eastern suburbs and the city is gross.
"Fecal bacteria in the creek is at levels that are 20 times the threshold that are considered safe for human consumption,” Assemblywoman Monica Wallace, D-Lancaster, said. “Contaminated sludge is up to five feet deep at some places and the avian botulism has been estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of birds in our region.”
The pollution, they said, is largely the result of abuse, alterations and poor infrastructure choices which have led to regular sewage runoff into the creek. Tuesday, Buffalo Waterkeeper and the Army Corps signed a cost-sharing agreement to cover a $600,000 restoration feasibility study.
"What it really means is that in the coming years we will be making significant progress in the actual restoration and changing and improvement segments of this creek system. It's what we've been talking about for decades," Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper Executive Director Jill Jedlicka said.
— Chemical manufacturer 3M Co. will pay at least $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of many U.S. public drinking water systems with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and a host of consumer products, the company said Thursday.
The deal would compensate water providers for pollution with per- and polyfluorinated substances, known collectively as PFAS — a broad class of chemicals used in nonstick, water- and grease-resistant products such as clothing and cookware.
This map shows Class "C", "High Hazard" dams: A dam failure may result in widespread or serious damage to home(s); damage to main highways, industrial or commercial buildings, railroads, and/or important utilities, including water supply, sewage treatment, fuel, power, cable or telephone infrastructure; or substantial environmental damage; such that the loss of human life or widespread substantial economic loss is likely.