Rainbow in the sky over Owasco (photo)
This Beautiful rainbow overlooking Owasco Lake was seen this afternoon after a shower moved up the lake.Taken along Ensenore Road. Photo by Melissa Martin.
more
Category: Owasco
OWLA reveals results of 2017 Owasco Lake tributary sampling
The Owasco Watershed Lake Association released the results of its 2017 Tributary Sampling Results survey, a program designed to identify potential sources of harmful algal bloom-promoting nutrients for mitigation projects. OWLA Board of Directors member Dana Hall, speaking at a meeting of the Owasco Lake Watershed Management Council Tuesday, explained how OWLA took samples from 17 of Owasco Lake’s tributaries...
more
Melrose Farm owner has ‘no intentions’ of letting workers continue to live in condemned housing
The owner of Melrose Farm was back in Owasco Town Court Monday night with a decision on what he plans to do with a structure he was using to illegally house workers on his farm. Joe Tidd told Justice Mark DiVietro that since his last court appearance on Sept. 24, he has “totally gutted” the workers’ housing building. During his last court appearance,...
more
Toxins in Auburn raw water at highest level this year, treatment system still working
Toxins have again been detected in the raw water supplying the city of Auburn’s water treatment plant at the highest level this season, but the drinking water supply remains safe, according to the Cayuga County Health Department. The department said in a release that results from samples taken Tuesday showed 1.2 micrograms per liter of microcytstins, a toxin associated with...
more
Save Owasco Now! renewing letter-writing campaign for state assistance with HABs
A local activist group dedicated to combating harmful algal blooms is renewing its campaign asking for state assistance in protecting water quality on Owasco Lake. Urged on by the approaching end of a public comment period on proposed changes to a state permitting process for farms and the continued presence of HABs on the lake, Save Owasco Now! is asking members and...
more
Sales tax revenues up in Auburn, down in Cayuga County’s towns and villages
Sales tax collection is trending upward in the city of Auburn through the third quarter of 2018 and holding relatively steady in Cayuga County. According to the latest monthly sales tax report from the Cayuga County Treasurer’s Office, the city of Auburn has collected more sales tax this year compared to last year, while the county has seen a very...
more
Owasco judge tells Melrose Farm owner to fix condemned workers’ housing or tear it down
The owner of Melrose Farm in Owasco was given 14 days to decide what he wants to do with a condemned building previously used to house farm workers on his property. Monday night in Owasco Town Court, Justice Mark DiVietro gave Joe Tidd two weeks to decide to fix the building to bring it up to code or tear it...
more
SUNDAY CONVERSATION: Running unopposed, Brian Schenck looks to build community in Cayuga Co.
Who will be the next sheriff in Cayuga County? Lt. Brian Schenck believes it should be him; and after Sheriff David Gould announced that he would not seek re-election – Schenck stepped up to the plate. On Wednesday, he visited the FingerLakes1.com studio where he discussed his campaign, local issues around policing, and how he aims to continue improving community...
more
Town cites Owasco farm for illegally housing workers
The owner of an Owasco farm currently under investigation by several local and state government agencies was summoned to court later this month for illegally housing workers on his farm for months. On Thursday night, town of Owasco code enforcement officer J. Patrick Doyle visited Melrose Farm to inspect a building that the farm’s owner had been using to house...
more
DEC looking to resolve Owasco Lake harmful algae monitoring problems
The transition of Owasco Lake’s harmful algal bloom surveillance program to a volunteer-led effort has allowed for a greatly expanded area of coverage, but the first full year with volunteers in the primary role has also come with some growing pains. Over the past four years, as harmful algal blooms (HABs) have become a persistent problem across New York’s lakes,...
more
NY Senate candidate Mannion: Algal blooms on Owasco, Skaneateles lakes ‘crisis situation’
With harmful algal blooms present in two nearby lakes, John Mannion believes the state should take emergency action to address water quality concerns and provide more funding to prevent algae from developing in the future. Mannion, the Democratic candidate for the 50th Senate District seat, held a press conference Wednesday to announce he's been endorsed by the New York League...
more
LATEST: Fleming man charged with BWI after two hurt in Owasco Lake accident
Sheriff David Gould reports that on Sunday at approximately 6:11 pm the Cayuga County E-911 Center received a call of a personal injury boating accident, which had occurred on Owasco Lake in the Town of Fleming. The investigation into that accident revealed that Frank R. McKay, 57, of Fleming was the operator of a 1988 Harris 28 ft pontoon boat...
more
Harmful algal bloom on Owasco Lake prompts weekly sampling
After the first confirmed harmful algal bloom of the season was detected on Owasco Lake last week, the Cayuga County Health Department has started weekly testing to monitor drinking water. The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) listed a harmful algal bloom (HAB) with confirmed toxins on the Owasco Lake tributary of Sucker Brook last Friday as part of its...
more
Celebrating water and life: OWLA hosts 11th Owasco Lake Day Festival
There is something special about gliding along Owasco Lake, and the Owasco Watershed Lake Association wants to share the experience with the community. On Sunday, OWLA hosted its 11th annual Owasco Lake Day, but this year, its second on Deauville Island at Emerson Park, the OWLA added the word “festival” to the event, explained Rick Nelson, chairman of the planning...
more
DEC: Discoloration on Owasco Lake not harmful algal blooms
An unidentified green discoloration on much of Owasco Lake seen earlier this week is not a harmful algal bloom, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said Wednesday. The DEC's Finger Lakes Watershed Hub first collected samples from the discoloration after it was reported Monday July 30. Testing performed on the samples did not find any evidence of the cyanobacteria that...
more
Cayuga County Water Quality Management unveils new website as central hub for water issues
The Cayuga County Water Quality Management Agency recently unveiled a redesigned website as part of a greater push to provide a central location for residents seeking information on water quality issues. The website, www.cayugacountywater.org, contains an array of informational resources relating to the county’s main waterbodies, namely Cayuga, Owasco and Skaneateles lakes, Lake Ontario, Duck Lake, Lake Como, Little Sodus...
more
‘One bad night’: Owasco man sentenced for menacing family with shotgun
An Owasco man will spend the next six months in jail for menacing a family in what authorities deemed a “landlord-tenant dispute” last fall. At around 10:50 p.m. Nov. 5, the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a home on North Road following reports of shots fired at the residence. At the time, the sheriff’s office said two males...
more
Talk at CCC explores ‘explosion’ of harmful algal blooms
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry professor Dr. Greg Boyer delivered a wide-ranging presentation Thursday evening at Cayuga Community College on the topic of harmful algal blooms with a focus on what caused last year’s “explosion” of blooms on Cayuga County’s lakes. Boyer, who has been studying harmful algal blooms in some form for 45 years, started with a...
more