Individual letters were mailed to all lake property owners on 2/29 explaining the treatment plan and individualized costs. Since everyone is benefiting from the lake improvements, we are asking everyone to donate.
The treatment plan with the updated treatment maps can be found here. If you are in the treatment area (as stated in your letter) we are asking you to register here to confirm your interest and commitment to have your lake front treated.
If you don’t receive a letter by 3/6 please email us at contact@littleyorklake.com or call us at 607-218-2550 and we will provide further details.
We will be following the same notification process as last year. You will receive a letter identifying the specific herbicide/algaecide, planned treatment date(s), water use restrictions (if any), and the time period within which you may express any objections and/or questions.
For any additional questions, please contact us at contact@littleyorklake.com
The LYLPS board has had a busy fall reviewing last summer’s milfoil treatment as well as other efforts. We have developed and approved a work plan for 2020 and are in the process of briefing various public entities. This includes the County Ag & Planning and Highway Committees as well as the Soil and Water Conservation District.
Here is a short summary of the plan:
Prevention
Support the installation and roll-out of the boat decontamination station at Dwyer Park
Continuing support, through C-OFOKLA, of the boat steward program, CCStoptheInvasion.org
Monitoring
Monitor the lake through CSLAP
Conduct regional CSLAP training on May 8th
Expand the monitoring by joining the Finger Lakes PRISM macrophyte program
Treatments
Treat variable leaf milfoil in previously untreated areas
Test treating starry stonewort
Management
Support new drawdown permit process
Establish shorescaping program in collaboration with SWCD
Continue support of septic education program
Organizational
Continue to build community
Maintain the lake management plan
As you can see, we have a lot on our plate, but all of it is important and part of our ongoing efforts to restore and maintain the lake.
Bed of Starry Stonewort
Of course, one of the more visible components is conducting additional treatments for variable leaf milfoil as well as addressing another major invasive species, starry stonewort. Our treatment plan can be found here.
We issued an RFP in January and received two bids. We have decided to move forward with Solitude Lake Management, the same firm we used for our treatment last year.
We plan to treat milfoil beds in areas where we didn’t treat last year. We plan to conduct the treatment during the early growing season, in May. This year we intend to use a different herbicide, Procellacor. It has been in use for several years in other states and was registered for use in New York last year. This herbicide has been demonstrated to have even less impact on the environment than Navigate and we will use less of it.
Starry stonewort is an algae and requires an algaecide. We are working with the Starry Stonewort Collaborative of the Finger Lakes Institute, Solitude, and DEC to determine the best approach. Treatment will likely occur in July. More information will be provided shortly.
We will follow a process similar to last year:
File for a permit in late February
Notify all affected riparian owners of our intent to treat and approximate dates
Conduct a public meeting to discuss any concerns
Raise money to cover the treatements
Complete the treatments
Of course there are many additional steps involved, but this presents the main points.
One of the key benefits of our treatment program last year was the reduced amount of milfoil floating on the lake. This benefited everyone. This year we are going to ask everyone to donate to support the cost of treatment. We are also going back to the county with a request that they pay for their share once budgets have been finalized.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please email us at contact@littleyorklake.com.
The herbicide treatment on Little York Lake was completed today at approximately 12 noon. Swimming is prohibited until 12 noon on Friday, May 31.
Lake and downstream riparian owners should not use the water for irrigation or drinking until we have conducted tests and verified that the concentration levels are <100 ppb and <50 ppb respectively. We will conduct our first downstream tests in 10 days and publish the results as soon as possible.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, contact us via email at contact@littleyorklake.com or via phone at 607-218-2550.
The treatment of the lake with Navigate to reduce Milfoil is scheduled to begin Thursday morning, May 30th. Signs have been posted along the public access areas of the lake in the treatment area and flags have been placed to mark the final treatment zones.
Water use restrictions apply and are listed in the table below:
The final treatment area is depicted in the following map:
Treatment Map May 30, 2019
We will be conducting water testing following the treatment and until the usage restrictions are cleared. Check back on this web site to stay up to date. We will post regular updates as the testing progresses.
We’ve been working diligently for the potential milfoil treatment that we first presented in our mid-December letter. We have:
Issued an RFP and received 3 bids to treat the lake
Selected a vendor, Solitude Lake Management, and began working with them
Refined the treatment map to cover a larger percentage of property owners
Learned a lot
This has involved multiple board meetings, conference calls and discussions with vendors.
We plan to treat the lake with Navigate which is the brand name for 2,4-D, a widely used herbicide. This will be applied in a granular form which minimizes drift.
The restrictions on water use post treatment are listed in the table below. To minimize the impact on downstream users (south of the dam) we plan to lower the lake to near its winter level and hold the water in the lake for 24 hours.
In order to maximize the number of properties we can treat with this herbicide and minimize the downstream impact, we had to strike a balance between the amount of herbicide we can put into the lake and the holding time of the dam. Unfortunately this means that some properties cannot be treated in this round. However, assuming this initial treatment is successful, we intend to continue treatments in the coming years and eventually treat all property owners’ lakefront.
The planned treatment area is pictured in the map below (click on it to get a full-sized version).
The two main areas that are not being treated are portions of the western shoreline in the upper lake and the southern end of the lake just above the dam.
The western shoreline is relatively deep and would require twice as much chemical per square foot to effectively treat. Treating this area would substantially reduce the total treatment area. We are not able to treat from 6222 Little York Lake Road south through 6180 Little York Lake Road in this round.
The southern end of the lake is too close to the outlet and the chemical will not effectively dilute during the holding period. Treating this area would have also substantially reduced the total treatment area. We are not able to treat properties from 6054 Rt. 281 south in this round.
We are in the process of applying to DEC for a permit for treatment during May. While approval is not guaranteed, preliminary feedback from both DEC and Solitude give us reason to be optimistic.
Now is the time to get involved with the our lake association so that you can help us to continue our efforts to restore Little York Lake and preserve it for future generations. Become a member today!
