Loss of Nutrients and Soil from Sandy Pond Tributaries, Oswego County, N.Y.

Abstract

North and South Sandy Ponds comprise one of the largest coastal bay ecosystems on Lake Ontario. Unlike South Sandy Pond, North Sandy Pond supports intensive recreational activities and intensive shorefront residential development including a commercial campground and several marinas. Both ponds have an over abundance of nutrients and are the likely cause of the over abundance of aquatic weeds in the water. The limnological literature is quite clear on the causes of this unwanted overabundance of aquatic weeds and microscopic plants – an excess amount of nutrients or fertilizers are entering the water. A short list of possible sources of nutrients and soil include point and non-point sources in the watershed of Sandy Pond, septic system losses in direct drainage areas adjacent to the Pond (e.g., from cottages and boats), and resuspension of nutrients from sediments in the Pond itself. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of losses of soil and nutrients from the five major tributaries draining sub-watersheds of North Sandy Pond hereafter referred to as Sandy Pond. Stream discharge and concentration of nitrate, total phosphorus, sodium, total suspended solids, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen were measured and converted into the amount of material lost from the watershed or loading into Sandy Pond during events and non-events.