Irondequoit Bay Nutrient Levels and Trophic State

Abstract

Long term trends show lower levels of phosphorus in the epilimnion for the past nine years. Determining the amount of phosphorus is important as high levels can result in excessive algae growth known as eutrophication. The successful effort to reduce the amount of wastewater entering the bay resulted in large phosphorus reductions. Watershed contributions from stormwater runoff as well as the loading from internal processes still have the potential to fuel eutrophication. In recent years the bay has met the long term goals for phosphorus concentration and has not experienced large algal blooms.