From the Hudson River to Onondaga Lake, officials and environmental groups in New York state have been working to clean up iconic waterways that have been negatively impacted by industry. 

That said, water bodies important to smaller communities are not unaffected by the impact of industry. 

What You Need To Know

  • From the Hudson River to Onondaga Lake, New York state officials and environmental groups have been working to clean up iconic waterways that have been negatively impacted by industry

  • One community in Oswego County is hoping to turn a lake that has been closed to swimming since the late 1980s back into a destination for recreation and leisure

  • The city is looking to support to he process through both federal and state grants geared toward rehabilitation efforts 

One community in Oswego County is hoping to turn a lake that has been closed to swimming since the late 1980s back into a destination for recreation and leisure. 

“People came in the summertime to party and enjoy the water,” said Mike Peterson, who is the brains behind the city of Fulton's efforts to once again make Lake Neatahwanta a crown jewel of the city after the lake and its popular beach was closed to swimming back in the late 1980s.

“There was a dog that died and some waterfowl and so the health department posted signs no swimming,” he said

Thirty-five years later, those signs remain.

Peterson says studies found that the discharge of nutrients from nearby farms via multiple streams resulted in persistent algae blooms — making the lake unswimmable.

“The nutrients are phosphates and nitrates and that’s what food for the algae,” he said.

After a dredging operation was derailed by the pandemic — he contacted EutroPHIX, a company that specializes in lake restorations and recommended treating the entire lake with Lanthanum.

“It goes down through the water and lanthanum has an affinity for phosphates,” he said. “As it goes down through the water it’s absorbing and tying up these phosphates. And then when it gets down to the sediment it continues to pull in and tie up the phosphates in the water.”

 He says the environmentally friendly solution would enable the city to restore the lake at a time when they are trying to attract residents associated with Micron’s new semiconductor plant planned for just down the road.

“This lake would be pretty attractive to the people who would be coming in for Micron,” he said.

The ultimate goal is to make the lake once again a crown jewel of the city of Fulton and surrounding communities

“The thing that has always been the hope is to be able to open up the beach again and once that happens it will be very uplifting to this community,” he said.

The city is looking to support the process through both federal and state grants geared toward rehabilitation efforts 

Fulton’s Mayor Deana Michaels says the city believes EutroPHIX is a proven solution that will restore the lake and make it once again a vibrant gathering spot for the city of Fulton and the town of Granby.