What is it?
A cohesive set of actions designed to educate watershed residents on the impact they have on the lake’s water quality, and to promote lake-friendly residential best practices. Through these actions and programs, we hope to assist and inspire all watershed residents to become proactive stewards of the future health of our lake. All of US … doing our part.
Every resident that lives roughly between I-390 and Federal Road affects the lake through their actions, whether they know it or not. Since all water from this basin eventually flows into the lake, any chemicals, fertilizers, petroleum products, waste or erosion particles will also end up in the lake. Each resident needs to be aware of, and adhere to, best practices to minimize or eliminate such impacts.
The overall health of the lake not only affects the quality of the drinking water drawn from the lake, and the overall enjoyment of those using the lake, it can also significantly impact housing prices, tax bases and the ability of area businesses to draw customers.
Conesus Lake has been designated as threatened as a public water source and impaired for fishing and recreational use by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Recent studies have indicated that the collective impact of watershed residents is the second largest contributor to the overall health of the lake. Our impact is second only to agriculture. At this time many of our watershed farms are actively pursuing their own set of best practices and improvements. If each of us uses those best practices that are relevant to us, we can and will make a huge, positive contribution to the health of our lake.
Based on input from the survey, we will be designing programs to educate and encourage best practices by residents and visitors to our watershed. Possible programs include: new owner, renter, day-boater, and visitor information programs; ‘lake friendly vendor’ endorsements; public area signage for storm drains, waterfowl feeding, etc.