The Skaneateles Lake Watershed Website
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City of Syracuse Programs

City of Syracuse Watershed Programs

 

City of Syracuse Water Department

The City’s long history with Skaneateles Lake has been marked with a legacy of sound water quality stewardship. The Syracuse Water Department (SWD) is responsible for constructing, maintaining and operating all necessary and desirable facilities for the supply and distribution of a safe, potable water supply for the City of Syracuse. The City of Syracuse Water Department (SWD) provides retail water service to the entire City of Syracuse. Through wholesale and other service agreements, the SWD also supplies water to portions of the towns of Dewitt, Onondaga, Geddes, Camillus, Salina, and the villages of Skaneateles, Jordan and Elbridge.

Skaneateles Lake’s exceptionally high water quality makes it possible to treat and utilize the lake’s water without requiring a filtration plant. In fact, Skaneateles Lake is one of the few large-system surface water supplies in the country that has earned this approval. Two water intake lines in Skaneateles Lake provide drinking water to more than 165,000 residents in Syracuse, Skaneateles, Jordan and Elbridge. The City has a conservation plan that manages lake levels. The SWD is committed to ensuring continued high quality drinking water for the community well into the future.

The City provides programs that work to protect Skaneateles Lake, including:

 

Skaneateles Lake Watershed Protection program

The Watershed Protection Program operated by the City of Syracuse consists of

  • an Inspection Program to detect violations of the Watershed Rules and Regulations, NYSDOH and county Sanitary Codes, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), Navigation Law and local rules and regulations

  • direct involvement in the procedures for installation of new and repair of existing onsite wastewater treatment systems

  • reviewing all design and site plans for proposed building and land disturbing activity

  • septic system inspections

Three full-time City of Syracuse personnel routinely patrol the lake and watershed: two Watershed Inspectors and a Watershed Quality Coordinator. Inspectors conduct investigations of lakeshore properties that include walking properties, inspecting for septic system failures, and investigating construction activities. Inspectors are assigned to individual zones within the watershed based on the time of year. Zones comprised of lakefront seasonal cottages are inspected during the summer months and remote areas located off seasonal roads are typically inspected in the Spring and Fall. 

The Watershed Protection staff also monitor timber harvesting projects and agricultural activity, pursue compliance of outstanding violations, and meet with property owners, DEC Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs), Building Inspectors, and County Public Health Technicians/Sanitarians. 

Skaneateles Lake Watershed Agricultural Program (SLWAP)

The SLWAP provides environmental protection plans for qualifying farms in the watershed. Once the plans are prepared, financial assistance is provided so that farmers/landowners can install improvements intended to protect the lake by keeping runoff water from storms and snow melt clean. This program is run by the Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Skaneateles Lake Watershed Education Program

Funded by the City of Syracuse, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County provides environmental education and outreach to four primary groups within the Skaneateles Lake Watershed, including:

  1. Residents and property owners within the watershed,

  2. Rural landowners managing agricultural, forested or open space land within the watershed,

  3. Municipal leaders and officials of the towns, villages and counties within the watershed, and

  4. Community groups, lake and lane associations, and other organizations that currently act as stewards of the lake and watershed or may potentially in the future.

As part of the Skaneateles Education Program, CCE Onondaga publishes a newsletter (WAVE Review) with Skaneateles Lake related updates from municipalities and partners in the watershed. The WAVE Reviews Newsletter provides Skaneateles Lake residents with a summary and updates on important events, projects, and issues related to water quality in the Skaneateles Lake Watershed. Click here for current and past editions of the newsletter.

Land Protection Program

In an effort to preserve and protect environmentally sensitive land that may have otherwise become a source of pollution, the City purchased conservation easements on 858 acres in the Skaneateles Lake watershed. Sellers agreed to limit activities that may be detrimental to water quality. A component of this program involves educating property owners about environmental stewardship. The purchase program is now complete, but restrictions on the land are perpetual, and properties are monitored on a schedule to make sure that owners are maintaining the proper stewardship of their land.

Watershed Program Reports