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Honeoye Lake Watershed Task Force (HLWTF) Update
Jack Starke
July 10,2006

The HLWTF, which includes a representative from each town in the watershed and one from the HVA, is working on three main projects to protect and improve the water quality of Honeoye Lake: Watershed Management Plan, Macrophyte Management Plan, and an alum application to Honeoye Lake. 

The purpose of the Watershed Management Plan is to identify best management practices and recommend local regulations to protect and improve the water quality of Honeoye Lake. A grant was obtained from the New York State Department of State under the Environmental Protection Fund to develop this plan. This grant was applied for and is being administered by the HLWTF and was awarded to the town of Richmond. 

The Watershed Management Plan document is the result of a comprehensive investigation of steps that should be taken to protect Honeoye Lake and its watershed. It includes the present “state of the lake”, additional needed research, recommended capital improvements, and a prioritized list of recommended action items. This document functions as a comprehensive plan of action or roadmap to protect Honeoye Lake well into the future. 

An initial draft was created and presented at a public information meeting in July, 2005. Since the final plan is intended to be a joint effort of local towns and the state, it is now in the process of being updated to meet state requirements. The next step is to investigate all local laws and best management practices and their functions in protecting the lake, and to identify gaps in their present state and make recommendations for additions or revisions. 

A second project, which is one of the action items in the Watershed Management Plan, is to develop a Macrophyte Management Plan. At present weed harvesting is the technique used to manage excessive rooted aquatic plants in Honeoye Lake. This committee is taking a fresh look at all techniques that could be used to manage excessive weeds. It is using guidelines developed by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in a document: “A Primer on Aquatic Plant Management in New York State”. The efforts of this committee, chaired by Terry Gronwall, are described in greater detail in another article in this newsletter. 

The third major project is an Alum Application Project. A subcommittee of the HVA, chaired by Don Bennett, was originally formed back in 2002 after a summer of particularly intense blue-green algae blooms. This project, now under the auspices of the HLWTF, is expected to come to fruition with an alum application scheduled to be done over a 5-7 day period starting June 26. This alum application is intended to reduce the release of phosphorus from the lake bottom sediment which is responsible for late summer algal blooms. Another article in this newsletter presents more details on this project. 

All of these projects and future projects are intended to protect the waters of Honeoye Lake and require the support of all watershed residents and lake users to be successful. We need your support and participation.