Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tmdl Phosphorus Cayuga Lake topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County planners, watershed group outline phased work after Cayuga Lake phosphorus TMDL; dredging timeline unclear
Summary
Tompkins County planning staff and watershed partners described the Department of Environmental Conservation's final phosphorus TMDL for the Cayuga Lake watershed, local pilot projects to identify implementation sites and stream corridor studies, and committee members pressed for clearer dredging timelines and state engagement.
Darby Kiley, associate planner with the Tompkins County Department of Planning and Sustainability, told the Planning, Energy and Environmental Quality Committee on July 14 that the DEC’s final total maximum daily load (TMDL) released in 2024 calls for a roughly 30% reduction in phosphorus load across the Cayuga Lake watershed.
Kiley said the TMDL apportions the largest share of required reductions to agricultural sources — about 40–42% across the watershed — while developed‑land best management practices (tree planting, buffer restoration, infiltration, stormwater ponds and similar BMPs) are another implementation pathway. County planning staff and the Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization (C‑WIO) plan a pilot watershed project to map potential implementation sites and identify priority practices for grant applications and on‑the‑ground projects.
Kiley also described two state‑funded stream corridor assessment studies under contract: a 6‑Mile Creek stream corridor assessment (consultant: Barton & Loguidice) that began with a kickoff meeting and will run about a year, and a similar Fall Creek study for Cornell’s drinking water source. Those studies aim to locate riparian reforestation and erosion control projects that can reduce phosphorus and sediment inputs identified in the TMDL.
Committee members raised dredging of lake channels and how that work interacts with flood maps and property insurance. Kiley said county staff had reached out to the City of Ithaca about dredging timing and received “no official update” but that the city expected to hear something in late summer to early fall. Committee member Greg said the county is likely to be tasked with emergency response when floods occur, and pushed staff to invite city and DEC representatives to a future meeting to clarify responsibilities.
Isaac Walker, watershed manager for the C‑WIO, and Roxy Johnston, C‑WIO chair, described local projects that support TMDL implementation, including road‑ditch and culvert assessments in neighboring counties intended to create a prioritized implementation list for grants. Walker and county staff said the pilot mapping and the corridor studies aim to identify municipal and agricultural opportunities that can be connected to state and federal funding.
No formal county decisions or votes were taken during the committee’s discussion; staff described outreach, studies under contract, and follow‑up steps to seek clearer timelines on dredging from municipal and state partners.
