Nutrient and Sediment Loss from Oneida Lake Tributaries : The South Shore Tributaries

Abstract

In recognition of the need to acquire a uniform, organized approach to addressing surface water degradation and given the diverse nature of non-point sources of pollution, the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board organized the Oneida Lake and Watershed Task Force. The Task Force is an alliance of agencies, organizations, elected officials, and citizens interested in the protection of water resources in the Oneida Lake Watershed. Because of the increased population and development pressure and because of water quality concerns south of Oneida Lake, monitoring of southern tributaries of Oneida Lake was initiated first. The intent is to expand this effort into the entire Oneida Lake watershed. Determination of sources and magnitude of soil and nutrient losses from a watershed is prerequisite to remedial action and essential to making cost-effective land management decisions as it reduces the likelihood of costly miscalculations based on the assumption of soil and nutrient sources and modeling rather than their actual identification. The goal of this report is to provide: An interpretive summary of chemistry trends for each subwatershed in the southern Oneida Lake watershed; A prioritization of the southern region tributaries, based on nutrient and soil loss; and A comparison between nutrient and soil loss from Oneida Lake subwatersheds to other central New York watersheds with different land use practices.