Auburn Council awards contract for Owasco Lake subwatershed assessment

The Auburn City Council voted to award a contract for an Owasco Lake subwatershed stream corridor assessment to EA Engineering and Geology P.C., using a $75,000 state nonpoint-source planning grant with a $10,000 local share.

Council leaders said the award targets the Venice and Zuckerbrook subwatersheds identified in the city's nine‑element watershed plan as contributing the most phosphorus per acre to Owasco Lake. City Manager Jensen told the council the work will involve on‑the‑ground stream assessments, identification of streambank erosion and buffer opportunities, and recommendations to reduce phosphorus loading.

The assessment, Jensen said, grew out of regular meetings of the nine‑element planning committee with partners including the Owasco Lake Watershed Management Council, Cayuga County Planning, and the Soil and Water Conservation District. “This is one of the first projects the City of Auburn has gone after since the nine‑element plan was approved by the state and locality,” Jensen said.

Jensen described the expected process: hire an engineering firm to perform field assessments, produce recommendations that may require more costly on‑the‑ground work, and then seek state funding for implementation of priority projects. Councilors noted the watershed inspector’s recent use of a drone and outreach to towns and villages as tools for earlier detection and education.

The council authorized the mayor to execute related documents and charged the contract costs to the city capital account for stream assessment engineering. Councilors thanked staff and volunteer partners for the multi‑jurisdictional effort to reduce nutrient loading to Owasco Lake.

The award marks the first step in a site‑specific engineering analysis; subsequent phases would depend on state or other funding to implement remediation or restoration projects identified in the assessment.