2009 ANNUAL REPORT
FINAL
NOVEMBER 2010
Prepared for:
ONONDAGA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF WATER ENVIRONMENT PROTECTON
Prepared by:
|
EcoLogic, LLC Aquatic, Terrestrial and Wetland Consultants Cazenovia, NY Lars Rudstam, Ph.D. Cornell Biological Field Station Anchor
QEA, LLC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A MESSAGE FROM THE
As in 2008, the 2009 AMP annual report is a concise summary of
major findings with links to supporting information. This paperless format was
developed to advance two objectives: first, to reach a broader audience, and
second, to continue to find ways to reduce our environmental footprint, through
our commitment to green initiatives. We are confident that this format will
enable more of our County leaders and citizens to become better informed
regarding the condition of
Joanne C. Mahoney
Onondaga
_____________________________________________________________________________________
A MESSAGE FROM THE
COMMISSIONER OF WATER ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION
The Department of Water Environment Protection is responsible
for collecting and treating wastewater from homes and businesses throughout the
County. As Commissioner, I am proud to lead our dedicated staff under a name
that reflects
Patricia M.
Pastella, P.E., BCEE
Commissioner
Key
Features of this Report
This report presents the findings of
The 2009 report was prepared and distributed as an electronic
document. Key results and supporting tables and graphics are included in the main
document, with links to supporting tables, technical reports and graphics in an
electronic library. The report and supporting files are available on CD and on
the
Once in the library of supporting documents, the reader can navigate back to the main report using web browser navigation tools. There are more than 500 supporting tables and graphics in the library of supporting materials. While each hyperlink has been checked, it is possible that some features may not be enabled on every computer’s operating system. Feedback on the functionality of the electronic features of the document is welcome, please contact JeannePowers@ongov.net with comments.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.2 Ambient Monitoring Program Design
1.3 Turning Data into Information: Metrics
1.5 Timeline of Onondaga Lake and Watershed
Events, 1998-2009
2. Onondaga Lake and its Watershed
3. Tributary
Results: 2009 Water Quality Status and Trends
3.2 Tributary Water Quality and Annual Loads
Compliance with Ambient Water Quality Standards
Compliance with Metro SPDES Permit
4. Onondaga Lake: 2009 Water Quality Status
and Trends
4.1 Trophic State Indicator Parameters
Total
Phosphorus (TP)
4.4 Metro Improvements and Lake Response
5. Biology and Food Web: 2009 Results and
Trends
6. Integrated Assessment of the Food Web
7. Progress with Related Initiatives
LIST
OF TABLES AND FIGURES BY SECTION
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Table EX-1 Summary
of Metrics, Onondaga Lake 2009.
SECTION 1: Introduction to
the AMP
Table 1-1. Summary of Current Fish Consumption
Advisories for Onondaga Lake.
Table 1-2 Metro
Compliance Schedule.
Table 1-3 CSO
Compliance Schedule.
Table 1-4 Data Analysis and Interpretation Plan.
Table 1-5 Summary
of metrics used to evaluate progress toward improvement.
Figure 1-1 Tributary
and Lake Regulatory Classification and Subwatershed Boundaries.
Figure 1-2 Map
of monitoring locations, Onondaga Lake and tributaries.
SECTION 2:
Table 2-1 Morphometric
characteristics of Onondaga Lake.
Figure 2-1 Hydrologic
input to Onondaga Lake, as percent of total.
Figure 2-2 Land Cover Classes, 2001, Onondaga Lake
Watershed.
SECTION
3: Tributary Results: 2009 Results and Trends
Table 3-3 Annual loading of selected water quality
parameters to Onondaga Lake, 2009.
Table 3-4 Percent annual loading contribution by
gauged inflow, 2009.
Figure 3-1 Metro
NH3-N, monthly average discharge compared to permit limit.
Figure 3-2 Metro
effluent compliance for total phosphorus concentration, 12-month rolling
average.
Figure 3-3 Metro
and Tributary Sources of TP to Onondaga Lake, 1998 to 2009.
Figure 3-4 Metro
and Tributary Sources of SRP to Onondaga Lake, 1998 to 2009.
Figure 3-6 Metro
Loading of Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and Organic Nitrogen, 1998‐2009.
Figure 3-7 Onondaga
Lake Ammonia Sources, 1998 and 2009.
SECTION 4:
Table 4-2 Nearshore
Secchi disk transparency statistical summary for Onondaga Lake, 2009.
Figure 4-1 Onondaga
Lake Summer Average Total P Concentration (0‐3m), 1998‐2009.
Figure 4-2 Onondaga
Lake Summer Algal Bloom Frequency, 1998‐2009.
Figure 4-3 Onondaga
Lake Chlorophyll‐a
Concentration, 1998-2009.
Figure 4-5 Onondaga
Lake Secchi Disk Transparency, January‐December, 2009.
Figure 4-6 Carlson
Trophic State Index (TSI) Onondaga Lake, 1998- 2009.
Figure 4-7 Onondaga
Lake Fecal Coliform Bacteria Abundance, Summer Geometric Mean, 1999‐2009.
Figure 4-8 Onondaga
Lake Fecal Coliform Bacteria Compliance, April – October 2009.
Figure 4-10 Nitrogen:
Phosphorus Ratio, 1998‐2009.
Figure 4‐11 Onondaga Lake Minimum DO in upper waters (0-3m)
during fall mixing period, 1998‐2009.
Figure 4-13 Three
Rivers System Study Area.
SECTION 5: Biology and
Food Web: 2009 Results and Trends
Table 5-1 2009
Macrophyte Field Survey Results.
Table 5-2 List of Fish Species Identified in Onondaga
Lake, 2009
Figure 5-1 Reduction
in Onondaga Lake phytoplankton standing crop, 1998 - 2009.
Figure 5-2 2009
Proportional biomass of phytoplankton divisions in Onondaga Lake.
Figure 5-3 Onondaga
Lake Phytoplankton Community Structure and Biomass, February-December 2009.
Figure 5-4 Onondaga
Lake South Deep, comparison of diatoms and silica concentrations in 2009.
Figure 5-5 Average
biomass of zooplankton, proportion of major groups across time.
Figure 5-6 Biomass
of different Daphnia species in Onondaga Lake.
Figure 5-7 Time
trends in average size of all crustaceans from 1999 to 2009 in Onondaga Lake.
Figure 5-8 Average
crustacean zooplankton length (mm) in Onondaga Lake in 2009.
Figure 5-10 Onondaga
Lake Relative Abundance of Dreissenid Mussels, 2002-2009.
Figure 5-11 Comparison of DELTFM for all fish evaluated
with brown bullhead only.
SECTION 6: Integrated
Assessment of the Food Web
Figure 6-1 Food web effects on water clarity
SECTION 7: Progress with
Related Initiatives
No
figures or tables
SECTION 8: Emerging
Issues and Recommendations
No
figures or tables
SECTION 9: Literature
Cited
The 2009 Annual Report of
Onondaga County’s Ambient Monitoring
Program (AMP) provides an overview of the
results of the extensive monitoring effort underway to characterize
In 1998, an Amended Consent Judgment (ACJ) between
The AMP is designed to document the lake’s response to
pollution control measures. Samples are collected throughout the entire
watershed to identify sources of materials (nutrients, sediment, bacteria and
chemicals) to the lake. An intensive in-lake monitoring program examines water
quality conditions and the interactions between
Excessive
discharges of municipal and industrial wastewaters, structural modifications
resulting in altered water levels, loss of wetlands, and runoff from urban and
rural areas have degraded the quality of
In
light of the lake’s
water quality conditions, the primary focus of
the improvements to the wastewater treatment system has been to provide a
higher level of treatment for ammonia and phosphorus at Metro. Two new
treatment systems have been brought on line to reduce Metro’s discharge of
ammonia and phosphorus to
The
2009 results document the continued significant improvements in
Clearer
water allows light to penetrate deeper into the lake, and fosters the
proliferation of macrophytes (rooted aquatic plants and bottom-dwelling algae)
in nearshore shallow waters, to a water depth of six meters. The macrophyte community has also become
more diverse, as more species of plants have colonized the nearshore waters of
the lake. As these macrophyte beds have
spread around the perimeter of the lake, they have brought improved habitat
conditions. The populations of gamefish
such as largemouth and smallmouth bass have increased steadily since 2000.
The
2009 report highlights an expanded review of the lake’s fish community, tracking
changes over a full decade of AMP biological
monitoring (2000 –
2009). Overall, there has been an increase in
the quantity and quality of habitat, both littoral and pelagic, available to fish species. This has resulted in a slight increase in the
number of species present and a more even distribution of fish throughout the
lake. Many fish species, particularly
those associated with vegetated habitats, are also increasing in
abundance. The aquatic food web within
the lake continues to include new species, both native and non-indigenous
(exotic), with increasingly complex pathways of material and energy transfer
among the life stages of the biota. This increasing complexity with regard to
energy sources and energy flow results in an ecosystem that may be more
resilient to environmental stress. The
results of the 2009 AMP indicate that this is an ongoing process and that more
changes are likely to occur. As lake
water quality continues to improve, resulting in more diverse and higher
quality habitat conditions, increases in aquatic species diversity, abundance, and interrelatedness can also be expected.
Segments
of streams flowing into
Water
quality conditions in the
Onondaga County Department
of Water Environment Protection, in consultation with NYSDEC and the Onondaga
Lake Technical Advisory Group, has developed a suite of metrics to help organize and report on the extensive AMP
data set each year. These metrics relate to the lake’s designated “best use”
for water contact recreation, fishing and protection of aquatic life. The 2009
results (Table EX-1) document substantial progress toward attaining the
designated uses in
|
Table EX-1. Summary of 2009 Onondaga |
|||
|
Restoration
Goal |
Measured
By |
2009
Results |
Significance |
|
Suitability for Water Contact
Recreation |
|||
|
Indicator bacteria |
Fecal colilform bacteria abundance |
Met NYSDEC standards for water
contact recreation in Class B segments (200 cfu/ 100 mL, geometric mean of at
least 5 samples/month) |
Class B segments of the lake
exhibit water clarity and bacteria levels that would support swimming,
boating, waterskiing and other types of contact recreation. Class C segments
of the lake, which are close to the major tributaries, periodically exhibit
elevated bacteria and reduced water clarity conditions after storms. |
|
Water clarity |
Secchi disk transparency (nearshore stations) |
Met NYS Dept. of Health swimming
safety guidance value (1.2 m water clarity) for water contact recreation in
Class B segments |
|
|
Aesthetic Appeal |
|||
|
Water clarity |
Secchi disk transparency (mid-lake station) |
Average June – Sept Secchi disk,
South Deep (mid-lake station): 3.2 m |
Total
phosphorus (total P) concentration in the lake’s upper waters during summer
(June- Sept) 2009 was 17 ug/L, within the NYSDEC guidance value of 20 ug/L
established to protect the aesthetic quality of lakes and ensure their
suitability for recreational use. The
low total P resulted in low algal abundance and clear water. The lake was
free of nuisance algal blooms, and cyanobacteria abundance was very low. |
|
Algal blooms |
Chlorophyll-a Total phosphorus in the upper
waters, June – Sept |
June
– Sept chlorophyll-a @ South Deep
(mid-lake station): 5.9 ug/L Low
algal abundance throughout the entire recreational period, no blooms Summer average TP: 17 ug/L |
|
|
Algal community structure |
Abundance of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) |
<1% of the algal community
was comprised of cyanobacteria |
|
|
Aquatic Life Protection |
|||
|
Ammonia |
Measured in-lake concentrations,
year-round, all depths |
100% of measurements met NYS
standards, all depths |
The 2009 water quality
conditions fully support a diverse warm water aquatic biota. Prior to the ACJ
improvements to the wastewater collection and treatment system, elevated
concentrations of ammonia and nitrite N, and low concentrations of DO during
fall mixing, were measured in Onondaga Lake. These water quality parameters
are now in full compliance with ambient water quality standards established
to protect even the most sensitive species and life stages. |
|
Nitrite |
Measured in-lake concentrations,
year-round, all depths |
100% of measurements met NYS
standards, all depths |
|
|
Dissolved oxygen (DO) |
In-situ buoys and frequent field
profiles during fall mixing (turnover), when historically conditions in |
7.2 mg/L average DO during fall
mixing, minimum 6.9 mg/L |
|
|
Sustainable Recreational Fishery |
|||
|
Habitat quality |
Cover and density of aquatic
plants (macrophytes) Deep water dissolved oxygen
during stratified period |
Approximately 50% of the
littoral zone exhibited dense macrophyte growth. The littoral zone is defined as the nearshore
area where light reaches the sediment surface and is thus suitable for the
growth of rooted aquatic plants. Summer anoxia in hypolimnion |
Coverage in this range provides
high quality habitat for fish reproduction and rearing; current conditions
are near-optimal for smallmouth and largemouth bass. Lack of well-oxygenated cold
water limits habitat for resident cold water fish community. |
|
Fish reproduction |
Reproduction of target species: · bass and sunfish · yellow perch · black crappie · rock bass · walleye and northern pike |
Occurring: · bass and sunfish · yellow perch · rock bass No evidence: · black crappie · walleye · northern pike |
Fish reproduction for several
target species has not been observed in the lake. Adult populations of these
species are stable and, in some cases, increasing. The lack of suitable
spawning habitat, not water quality, appears to be the limiting factor in
fish reproduction in the lake. Restoration of habitat is underway as part of
the Honeywell lake cleanup project. |
|
Fish community structure |
Percent of fish species
intolerant or moderately intolerant of pollution |
4% |
Most of the |
The 2009 Annual AMP report has been prepared and submitted
to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to
comply with a judicial requirement set forth in the 1998 Amended Consent
Judgment (ACJ) between
The NYSDEC is responsible for managing water resources
throughout NY State. As part of this responsibility, NYSDEC classifies surface
waters, including lakes, rivers, streams, embayments, estuaries and groundwater
with respect to their best use.
Monitoring results are evaluated on a regular basis to determine whether
designated uses are supported, and if not, the factors precluding use
attainment.
Water flows to
For many years,
|
Table
1-1. Summary of Current Fish Consumption Advisories for
|
|||
|
|
Species |
Advisory |
Chemicals
of Concern |
|
|
Largemouth
bass and smallmouth bass over 15" and walleye |
Don't eat |
Mercury,
PCBs |
|
Carp,
channel catfish and white perch |
Don't eat |
PCBs,
Mercury, Dioxin |
|
|
All
fish not listed |
Eat
up to one meal per month |
Mercury,
PCBs |
|
|
Brown
bullhead and pumpkinseed |
Eat
up to four meals per month |
Mercury,
PCBs |
|