Source:
Skaneateles Lake (pronounced Scan-E-atlas) is a lake located twenty miles south from the city of Syracuse. The Finger Lakes are the result of glaciers moving through New York some two million years ago Skaneateles being one of them. There are eleven total Finger Lakes (twelve if Oneida is counted) in New York each of them with unique Iroquois names. Skaneateles is a pristine lake that is often referred to as one of the cleanest lakes in the world, and the cleanest of the Finger Lakes. The lake is classified as oligotrophic meaning that there is low levels of nutrients(phosphorus and Nitrogen) and low productivity levels. This keeps the water clear and clean. In fact, Skaneateles Lake is so clean that it does not need to go through a filtration plant to drink from it. Not only a source of drinking water for the village, but it also provides Syracuse and other places within Onondaga County with water.
OCWA’s Annual Water quality report for 2013 indicates “approximately 36.13 million(M) gallons of water per day to 340,000 residential customers”.2
The water is treated as required by state law and will be discussed in further depth later.
The majority of the water OCWA treats comes from Lake Ontario; about 18M gallons or 50%, and is distributed as a first come, first serve basis along the pipeline. That is the Northern OCWA supply mainly goes to Northern county residents. Otisco lake water supply accounts for about 47% and is distributed to southern and western county residents. The city of Syracuse treats its own water through OCWA from Skaneateles lake at about 3% of the daily supply. Water treatment starts by protecting the source and controllking lake environments, enter Water Environment Protection of Onondaga County (WEP).
In addition to Skaneateles Lake water, the City occasionally supplements its supply with Lake Ontario water supplied by the Metropolitan Water Board (MWB), an Onondaga County agency. The City normally relies on Lake Ontario water during times when drought conditions limit the available supply from Skaneateles, during emergencies, or during periods of high consumption. (City of Syracuse)
The lake water passes through coarse screening and receives chlorine for disinfection and fluoride for dental hygiene. At the Reservoirs, the water is re-chlorinated and phosphate is added for corrosion control. (City of Syracuse)
Harms that face it
Contaminants that may be present in source water include:
●Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage
treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife;
● Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally
occurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming;
●Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses;
●Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems; and
●Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities (City of Syracuse water newsletter)
-best around (price vs purity)
-Given the current high quality of Skaneateles Lake water, the significant financial savings associated with a filtration waiver issued to the City of Syracuse and the Village of Skaneateles by the state (it is estimated that construction of a filtration plant would cost Syracuse $60 to 70 million and the Village/Town of Skaneateles $4 to 6 million)(TB)
