Get email alerts on the Water Quality Honeoye topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Honeoye Lake Task Force Reports High Spring Rainfall; DEC to Release Alum Pilot Findings
Summary
The Honeoye Lake Watershed Task Force reported well-above-average March and April rainfall and a nearly two-foot rise in lake level; DEC plans a public report and virtual information session on its Alum Pilot study and the task force is researching aeration and biochar pilot projects.
Terry Gronwall presented the Honeoye Lake Watershed Task Force (HLWTF) May 2026 update to the Richmond Town Board, reporting unusually heavy spring rainfall and subsequent lake-level rises. Gronwall said March rainfall was about 4.9 inches (average 2.7) and April about 7.8 inches (average ~3.1), which he said accounted for roughly a two-foot increase in the lake in March and April; lake level on May 5 was 804.4 feet, compared with a normal level of 803.3 and a mean high-water of 804.6 feet.
Gronwall also summarized regional water-quality work: the DEC will issue a final public report on its Alum Pilot and plans a virtual public information session in 2026 to explain why expected water-quality improvements were not observed in 2023–24. The HLWTF has approved a small-stream biochar pilot to test phosphorus reductions and is researching hypolimnetic oxygenation and larger aeration systems as long-term options should the DEC monitoring indicate they are warranted.
The task force sought examples of successful large-lake aeration systems to guide planning; Honeoye Valley Association thanked volunteers for roadside cleanups and the town for support. The report did not include a funding decision for an aeration system; HLWTF continues to pursue grant-funded options and pilot studies.
AI generated
The text on this page is AI generated. Summaries, highlights, analysis, and video transcripts are all produced from the original source material.
AI can make mistakes, so if you spot one, and we will fix it for everyone.
Note: the source content is unaltered by us. Any content source we link to, be it a video, an audio recording, or a document, is presented exactly as its publisher released it. That publisher is usually a government body, sometimes an individual official or another organisation.
