"Onondaga Lake is very interesting," said Greg Boyer, who runs the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry algae testing lab. "We've been monitoring it since 1985, and we have one example of a toxic microcystin bloom in all the samples we have collected. Oneida Lake during about the same time period has been toxic every single year."

"Boyer speculates that the water chemistry in Onondaga Lake, particularly the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen, helps inhibit toxic algae growth. The lake's chemistry is largely driven by Onondaga County's wastewater treatment plant, through which about 20 percent of lake's input flows."