MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance will use funding from the county to hire an independent firm to monitor the use of herbicides on Chautauqua Lake.
The herbicides application for designated areas of the lake in the towns of Ellicott, Ellery, North Harmony and villages of Celoron and Lakewood was approved by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at the start of this month and will begin tomorrow, weather permitting.
The firm that will be monitoring the application to ensure it is only applied in the designated areas and also test the water to ensure proper application is Princeton Hydro, a New Jersey based firm that provides integrated ecological and engineering consulting services.
The company specializes in natural resource management, engineering services, environmental services, and pond and lake management.
According to a media release from Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello’s office:
Princeton Hydro is slated to conduct pre-treatment, during treatment, and post-treatment sampling and observation to objectively and independently evaluate the 2019 herbicide treatment program. Observations are expected to include visual observations and documentation of the condition of the plants using standard protocols, such as plant density, species distribution, and biomass; and water quality indicators such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, and clarity. Sample sites will be located along an estimated 12 transects within four treatment zones, four potential drift zones, and four control zones (those areas not treated and not believed to be susceptible to drift).
“I am delighted the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance is able to already support a key tenet of the Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy,” said Pierre Chagnon, Chautauqua County Legislator and Chair of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance. “By developing and contracting for this independent monitoring of the herbicide treatments we will be able to report to the community clearly and concisely on the effectiveness and the effects of the treatments.”
A final report will be given to the Alliance once the process is completed.
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