Nutrient Loading of Streams Entering Lake Neatahwanta Oswego County, NY: A Summary of the Lake Neatahwanta Tributary Monitoring

Abstract

This study suggests that the highly eutrophic condition of Lake Neatahwanta is in large part due to the very high loadings of nutrients from the surrounding watershed. Specifically, Sheldon Creek was identified as a major contributor of phosphorus and total suspended solids to the lake. The amount of nutrients entering the lake from Sheldon Creek were in excess of those observed in creeks of New York receiving point source loadings from small sewage treatment plants. Improvement of the water quality of Lake Neatahwanta will depend upon the identification and remediation of the major sources of nutrients in the watershed and in the Sheldon Creek watershed in particular.