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Chautauqua Lake

Chautauqua is committed to practicing responsible environmental stewardship and sustainability in the management of its property and as a member of the broader Chautauqua Lake Watershed community.

Current stewardship practices include recycling, composting, tree management and planting, purchase of electric trams and bio-diesel buses, Green Design standards and rewards, an energy efficiency audit and upgrades to Institution facilities, wildlife habitat preservation, and use of recycled and recyclable products.

In 2003 Chautauqua Lake was listed by New York State as “impaired waters” under the requirements of the U.S. Clean Water Act. Nutrients are the principal cause of the impairment. Storm water delivers nutrients into the lake either as phosphorus or as nitrogen contained within the chemistry of the storm water or as attachments to sediment that flows along with the storm water.

Chautauqua Institution is in a unique position to control our community’s impact on the lake. The Institution controls 100 percent of the stormwater runoff from its land without having to manage water problems presented by others.

Chautauqua Lake is critical to a strong sense of place and community for those at Chautauqua Institution and lake residents, but human impact is taking its toll.

Chautauqua Institution is committed to alleviating the stressors that are impacting Chautauqua Lake. With careful planning and dedication we are striving to minimize our impact on this beloved and important resource. Ours is a long-term commitment to improving the water quality of the lake and the natural environment in which we live.

150 Forward Strategic Plan

Current Actions

Chautauqua Institution is currently implementing significant efforts to alleviate pressure on the lake. These include:

  • Implementing a comprehensive and detailed Drainage Management Plan to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff and nutrients entering the lake
  • Restoring a healthy shoreline through our Sustainable Shoreline Action Plan
  • Composting
  • Supporting Chautauqua Utility District’s efforts to update the wastewater treatment facility that serves the Institution grounds and surrounding community
  • Improving codes and regulations to minimize runoff
  • Strengthening links to community environmental stewards
  • Planning for the future

About The Lake

Chautauqua Lake, at 1,308 feet above sea level, is one of the highest navigable waters in North America. It offers exceptional fishing for walleye, bass, muskellunge and several species of panfish.

Located in the southeast corner of Chautauqua County, Chautauqua Lake is about 17.5 miles long and has a surface area of 13,156 acres.

The lake is divided into two basins of nearly equal size by Bemus Point. The north basin of Chautauqua Lake averages 25 feet deep, with a maximum depth of 75 feet. The south basin is considerably shallower, with an average depth of 11 feet and a maximum depth of 19 feet.

The water from the lake drains to the south, emptying first into the Chadakoin River in Jamestown, New York before traveling east into the Conewango Creek. The creek goes south, entering the Allegheny River in Warren, Pa. and the Ohio River in Pittsburgh and drains into the Mississippi River.

The Chautauqua Lake Watershed has likely been inhabited for 10,000 to 12,000 years. The first significant impacts to the lake and watershed, however, did not occur until the 19th century when deforestation and overfishing were at their peak. Warner Dam was built in 1919 and is currently used to partially regulate lake levels. Chautauqua Lake has a long history of water quality monitoring. The lake was first sampled by the New York State Conservation Department as early as 1937.

According to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, 90 percent of Chautauqua Lake’s shore is now developed.

Challenges

Phosphorus

Stormwater Management

Rain Gardens

Lake Stressors

Challenges

Chautauqua Lake is a resource of incredible natural beauty, treasured for its aesthetic and recreational value year-round.

Chautauqua Lake is in serious trouble. An overabundance of excessive nutrient and sediment inputs into the lake from the surrounding watershed has been wreaking havoc on the lake’s water quality and its natural systems.

Chautauqua Institution has started to take actions towards preventing further damage to lake through Drainage Management and Sustainable Shoreline Action Plans. But everyone can help!

Phosphorus

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program (CSLAP) have identified phosphorus to be a primary nutrient of concern for causing water quality problems in the lake. Phosphorus is necessary nutrient for plant growth, and is considered a “limiting nutrient” because plant growth will cease when all available phosphorus is used, regardless of how many other nutrients are available. It is usually found in very small concentrations in the aquatic environment, and excessive addition of phosphorous can lead to problematic increases in plant and algae growth, along with other water quality problems.
Common sources of high nutrient runoff include:

  • Wastewater and stormwater runoff
  • Runoff from construction sites
  • Runoff from impervious surfaces such as parking lots, roads, buildings and driveways
  • Runoff from agricultural irrigation
  • Runoff from pasture or mowed lawns
  • Septic tank leachate

Everything runs downhill

This website details the problem, tells you what Chautauqua Institution is doing to combat it, and what you can also do to help. Chautauqua Lake needs us all!

“Without any improvement, the increasingly poor water quality resulting from

unmitigated and high-nutrient runoff can begin to impact everything from fishing

and recreational activities to tourism and property values.”

from SSAP

Stormwater Management

Chautauqua Institution has implemented the first steps of a comprehensive Drainage Management Plan that addresses stormwater flow throughout the grounds. This is the first comprehensive action taken by a lakeside community on Chautauqua Lake.

The plan is also supported by two grants awarded by New York state totaling $696,000.

In November 2010, Institution staff was presented with the report conducted by Foit-Albert Associates, an architecture and engineering firm based in Buffalo, N.Y., with a history of designing environmentally proactive stormwater management systems on the grounds. The firm reviewed the existing storm sewer system at Chautauqua and used topographical data and actual rainfall data to calculate and map the flow of stormwater and performance of storm sewers.

Foit-Albert reviewed state and federal environmental policies as well as local priorities. Specifically, the NYS Draft Chautauqua Lake TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) document that will affect storm water discharge nutrient management requirements and the recently prepared Chautauqua County Chautauqua Lake Management Plan were considered.

The Drainage Management Plan divides Institution property into 13 separate and distinct drainage areas, what are called “mini watersheds.” Improvements for each area were identified and prioritized. The plan calls for significant action:

  • Reduce nutrient input to the lake
  • Retain water where it falls
  • Eliminate or decrease runoff discharge into Chautauqua Lake
  • Remove nutrients from water running into lake
  • Employ best management practices
  • Serve as a demonstration community

This spring, the Institution was awarded two grants totaling $696,000 from Environmental Protection Agency and Clean Water Act funds distributed through the New York State Green Innovation Grant Program for the construction of an environmentally proactive surface and sub-grade stormwater management system. The Institution is required to provide a 10-percent matching investment.

Efforts already taken under the Stormwater Management Plan have proven effective, including a wetlands area near South Gate and rain gardens at Fletcher Hall, Peck Ave. and South Lake, and in University Park; and buffer gardens at the Glidden shoreline.

Rain Gardens

Once nutrient-rich water gets into Lake Chautauqua it is almost impossible to filter the nutrients back out. So the concept behind rain gardens and no-mow zones is to preemptively and naturally filter the water of its nutrients before it reaches the lake.

Water flow-rate slows at it enters the garden, allowing for larger particles and sediment to settle out, and for other suspended solids to be filtered out as the water is absorbed into the soil.

Excess nutrients dissolved in runoff water are taken up and stored by the plants, which prevents them from contaminating the lake


Rain Garden Fun Fact:
Despite what their name might imply, rain gardens are actually dry most of the time (except after rainfall events, when they absorb water). They look just like normal gardens!

Native plants that tolerate a range of wet and dry conditions are used in these gardens since they are at times flooded with water and at other times

Lake Stressors

Did You Know?
A 2010 national study of lakes conducted by the U.S. EPA identified three main stressors that affect water quality: lack of natural shoreline habitat; physical complexity of the shoreline; and nutrient loading.

Chautauqua Lake suffers from all three. A survey of the Institution’s shoreline conducted by the Watershed Conservancy showed that 80% of the Institution’s shoreline evidenced these three stressors. (source: SSAP)

ChautauquaWatershedMap

Want to receive our regular updates on Chautauqua Institution’s lake conservation efforts?

We are pleased to provide periodic updates of our ongoing efforts to conserve Chautauqua Lake. You may sign up to receive these emails via the form, or view past editions below.

Newsletter Archive

Updates on Lake Stewardship

Trip to Lake George: In order to benefit from the lake and watershed conservation experience of another lake community in New York, Chautauqua Lake stakeholders including representatives of Chautauqua Institution, SUNY Fredonia, and Chautauqua County government in October 2018 visited Lake George, New York, where an innovative new model for lake and watershed management is working to save and maintain one of New York’s most famous lakes. Click here to read an account of their trip.

Resources

Chautauquan Daily articles on Chautauqua Lake

  • “Grants Aid Institution’s Efforts to Protect Chautauqua Lake” Chautauquan Daily | Aug. 26, 2011
  • “Jane Conroe Lobbies Residents to Help in Lake Preservation” Chautauquan Daily | Aug. 6, 2011
  • “Testing the Water” Chautauquan Daily | July 23, 2011 – Profiles the work of Chautauqua Utility District
  • “The Lure of Chautauqua Lake” Chautauquan Daily | July 8, 2011 – The state of fishing on Chautauqua Lake
  • “Troubled Waters” Chautauquan Daily  | Aug. 4, 2012 – Provides an overview of problems facing Chautauqua Lake, the causes of those problems, and local organizations working toward solutions

Lake Organizations:

  • Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium – (a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance) – The purpose of the Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium is to serve as the voice of protection for our region’s water, both surface and ground, and all of the creatures who depend on it.
  • Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance (CLWMA) – CLWMA’s mission is to work collaboratively with Lake and Watershed organizations, Municipalities and other stakeholders to implement recommendation from the Chautauqua Lake Management Plan and Macrophyte strategy by prioritizing projects and securing funding.
  • Chautauqua Lake Association – Mission is to provide effective and efficient lake maintenance services for the benefit of all Chautauqua Lake users.
  • Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy – County-wide organization with a mission to preserve and enhance the water quality, scenic beauty and ecological health of the lakes, streams and watersheds of the Chautauqua region.
  • Chautauqua Lake Partnership – CLP is committed to improving the quality of Chautauqua Lake. 

Chautauqua County related organizations:

  • Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Economic Development 
  • Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District
  • Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency (CLPRA)

Lake Management Resources:

  • Chautauqua County Watershed Management Plan: A New York State document created to advise the County on management of the Lake.
  • Chautauqua Lake Harmful Algal Bloom Plan: A New York State document intended to inform the County, towns and villages, lake organizations and the public on Harmful Algal Blooms.

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