The Ontario County Soil & Water Conservation District recently partnered with the Town of Canadice Highway Department to stabilize a ditch experiencing severe erosion along Cratsley Hill Road. Erosion from steep roadside ditches, such as this, has a direct effect on the water quality in downslope Honeoye Lake. Nutrients are bound to sediments and when erosion occurs and washes these sediments downslope they accumulate in our waterbodies and can help fuel the occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). This particular site was stabilized using a material called Flexamat. Flexamat is a permeable mat made of woven material overlaid with concrete blocks in a grid pattern. This provides the stabilization needed to withstand flows from stormwater during major rain events while also leaving space between the blocks for vegetation to establish. This vegetation helps to further stabilize the road ditch while also filtering and slowing water. Funding for this project was made possible through the NYS DEC Water Quality Improvement Project with match funding coming from the Town of Canadice in the form of labor and equipment. This project is part of a larger, ongoing effort in the Honeoye Lake Watershed to reduce sediment and nutrient loss from roadside ditches. Future projects include the installation of Flexamat material along portions of Jersey Hill Road and Canadice Hill Road and are scheduled to be completed in 2023. The District would like to thank the Town of Canadice Highway Department for their expertise in installing this project!