Shallow Oneida Lake has seen a long-term increase of 2 to 4 degrees in average temperature, which makes the tourist-friendly waters a particularly inviting home for the toxic algae.
“Why we have increased temperature in the lake is because of global warming," said Lars Rudstam, director of the Cornell University Cornell Biological Field Station on Oneida Lake.
David Moore, professor emeritus at Utica College, affirms the lake is getting warmer.
“Oneida Lake's average daily water temperature reached 75 degrees on only one day from 1968 to 1990," he said. “In 2005, however, that temperature exceeded 75 degrees 29 times."
“I think the general trend of warming has exacerbated the situation."
The Cornell station, which has 12 full-time staff that swells to 30 in warmer weather, has been studying the lake for 50 years. At the end of June the station noticed a bloom of the algae, which made its way to Sylvan and Verona beaches.
On July 7, lifeguards at Sylvan Beach and officials at Verona Beach noticed how cloudy the swimming areas were, and officials from the Oneida County Health Department recommended the beaches be closed and the water tested.
A lab in Albany confirmed that the algae, called cyanobacteria, was in the water at unsafe levels. Sylvan Beach wouldn't be safe for swimming until July 12 and Verona Beach would stay closed until July 14, when tests showed levels of the algae, and the irritating toxins they secrete, had diminished. Read the full report here.
Source: by Daniel P. Bader, Observer-Dispatch, Uticaod.
