Thank you to Sonya and Tom for filling-in for Ken with collecting water samples for the annual CSLAP lake report a couple of weeks ago. And thanks to Kim for assisting Alan in collecting a new batch of water samples that are now being tested for caffeine. Caffeine is professionally accepted and is frequently referred to as an indicator of human contamination in water bodies. Neighborhood participation and assistance with stewardship of our lake and the surrounding environment is always valued and appreciated!
Keeping nutrients -- new phosphorus and nitrogen -- out of the lake is the number one goal of the DLA Lake Management Plan. Disturbed dirt, such as created by the Town's newly-dug culvert ditches followed by an inch and a half of rain, came with the risk of Duane Lake getting a dose of silt and phosphorus and thus a possibility of algae bloom. We have seen this happen before.
Homeowner projects that expose bare dirt also pose the same risk. Remember: water wants to go downhill and takes soil nutrients with it.
A fairly good example of this was provided by the Schenectady County Highway Department in its summertime upgrading of Schoharie Turnpike. Along with the repaving of the road, the roadside ditches that flow into Duane Lake were re-excavated. Luckily, there was little or no rain to wash silt into Duane Lake and by mid September the crew had applied the spray-on green goo known as Hydro-Seeding. It germinated fairly well just in time for the recent rains. Sooner might have been better, but at least it got done and, judging by the downstream water clarity, it seems to have already had the desired effect.
New Schoharie Turnpike ditches before hydro-seeding.
New Schoharie Turnpike ditches after hydro-seeding. The grass will filter out much of the silt before the water reaches Duane Lake.
Please install silt barriers before-hand and a good amount of mulch as soon as possible after your homeowner projects to hold the soil in place.
Completion of the replacement culvert work on Duane Lake Rd has been delayed. Keith Hudson, the Town's highway superintendent explained that the delay is due to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation inspecting the work and giving approval to complete the job. The Town's Facebook notice follows:
FYI - The Town is expected to do some heavily accumulated weed removal at the outlet culvert and canal when the road culvert work is completed.
