Grantee Research Project Results
2000 Progress Report: Onondaga Lake/Seneca River EMPACT Site
EPA Grant Number: R827966Title: Onondaga Lake/Seneca River EMPACT Site
Investigators: Effler, Steven W. , Saunders, D. A. , Gelda, Rakesh K. , List, R. L. , Brooks, C. M. , O'Donnell, D. M. , Michalenko, E. M. , Driscoll, Charles T.
Current Investigators: Effler, Steven W. , Saunders, D. A. , Gelda, Rakesh K. , Brooks, C. M. , O'Donnell, D. M. , Michalenko, E. M. , Doerr O'Donnell, Susan M. , Driscoll, Charles T. , Hassett, J.
Institution: Syracuse City School District , The State University of New York
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period:
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2001
Project Amount: $499,999
RFA: Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) (1999) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Statistics , Water , Aquatic Ecosystems , Air , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration
Objective:
Onondaga Lake is arguably the most polluted lake in the United States. Fishing and swimming are prohibited, and several water quality standards are routinely violated. Adjoining portions of the Seneca River are tightly linked to the lake with respect to water quality, ecological concerns, and management issues. Reliable polling results indicate that while an overwhelming majority of local residents (>90%) know that these systems are severely polluted, they have little specific knowledge of why this is (<50%), or how to rectify the situation. In 1998, local state and federal authorities agreed on a 15-year staged program ($400+ million) to address the impacts of sewage pollution on the lake and river. This program requires continuous monitoring. A consortium of organizations from the Syracuse area (above) conveys critical near-real-time data, from remote platforms in the lake and river, to the public, via a variety of public education forums, and to the research community. The overarching goals of this EMPACT project are to: (1) apply and advance innovative remote monitoring technology to meet the acute present and future monitoring needs for Onondaga Lake and the Seneca River; (2) redress the community's lack of understanding concerning the degraded conditions of these ecosystems; and (3) promote excellence in teaching, learning, and research. The lasting benefits, of this EMPACT project will include: (1) addition of critical capabilities to the long-term monitoring program; (2) creation of vehicles to communicate important characteristics and findings to all stakeholders; and (3) a community that is more engaged in critical environmental decision making.Progress Summary:
Work on this project has proceeded on three fronts. Our accomplishments to date include:Remote Monitoring and Data Collection
- Obtained and deployed three Remote Underwater Sampling Station (RUSS) buoys. These platforms were placed in the South basin of Onondaga Lake, the North Basin of the Lake, and in the Seneca River downstream from the Lake's outlet. The stations collected depth-profiled data for water temperature, pH, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, oxidative reduction potential, chloride, and chlorophyll.
- Year-round operation of the RUSS buoys was impractical due to ice conditions on Onondaga Lake.
- A meteorological station was installed on the RUSS buoy anchored over the Southern Basin. This station measures: air temperature, wind speed and direction, and incident light.
- All water quality data have undergone QA by comparison with manual monitoring (i.e., laboratory and field measurements). Meteorological data have been compared with data from a regional National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather station.
- Remote monitoring data were found to compare favorably with the manual monitoring program, with the exception of underwater irradiance. We discovered a serious flaw in the YSI light sensor, resulting in complete data loss for this parameter for the 2000 deployment season. We are actively working with YSI to resolve this issue prior to the 2001 deployment.
Educational
- A steering committee of 25 teachers from the Syracuse City School District, representing grades K-12 and all content areas, was formed to provide guidance in the development and implementation of the project. This group also develops and tests curricular materials in their classrooms.
- A monthly newsletter titled Explorer Tracks is published and distributed to teachers and administrators. These publications are designed to develop interest in the project and provide classrooms with information and instructional ideas.
- The Syracuse City School District has received several additional grants to extend the scope and impact of the project. New York State Archives and Records Administration awarded a grant to help connect artifacts in local government repositories to enhance classroom exploration of Lake issues. Verizon, Inc., is providing funds to utilize this project to advance literacy in the homes of underprivileged students.
- Carousel Center, a large Mall on the southern shores of Onondaga Lake, has established a partnership with the school district to develop a research classroom.
- Six in-service courses for teachers were established to develop capacity to utilize the courses available in this project. These courses are: Exploring the Onondaga Lake Watershed, Exploration of Water and Aquatic Systems, Field Inquiry: Theory and Practice, Identification and Development of Local Artifacts, Development of Document Based Questions from Local Artifacts, and Facilitating Learning Using Local Artifacts.
- The Syracuse City School District has begun a comprehensive curriculum development project. Materials and resources developed by our Onondaga Lake/Seneca River EMPACT Site are being utilized to connect student learning to local experiences and issues.
Public Access
- An Interpretive Kiosk is being developed for Syracuse's Museum of Science and Technology. This three-dimensional presentation will provide panels on the natural history, ecology, and current condition of the lake. A touch screen computer is embedded into the display to provide Public Access to our RUSS data.
- Onondaga County Parks Department is working with this project to develop trail booklets to provide visitors to Onondaga Lake Park with interpretive information about the lake and its remediation. Interpretive audio tours also are being developed for the trams that shuttle people along the lake through the park.
- Interpretive Museum Panels are being designed for the Onondaga County Salt Museum. This museum is located on the eastern shore of the lake.
Future Activities:
During the next project year, we will conduct the following activities:? The RUSS unit installed in the North basin of the Onondaga Lake will be moved into the Seneca River upstream of the Lake's outlet. This will monitor the impact of a large zebra mussel bed in the River and support real-time water quality modeling of the river system.
? Improvement will be made to our automated quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) process during this next deployment season to better resolve and identify probe issues and improve the reporting of real-time data.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 8 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
limnology, ecological effects, Northeast, EPA Region 2, New York, NY., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Ecosystem Protection, Monitoring/Modeling, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Environmental Monitoring, Ecology and Ecosystems, Ecological Risk Assessment, EPA Region, Social Science, EMPACT, limnology, ecological condition, ecological effects, ecological exposure, community-based approach, Onondaga Lake, Seneca River, community water quality information system, web site development, community outreach, water quality, stakeholdersRelevant Websites:
http://www.ourlake.org
http://www.scsd.k12.ny.us
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.