Surface Water Temperature: 79.7 F
Water Clarity: 11.8 Feet
Lake Level: 803.3 Feet above sea level
Lake Level Relative to Weir: -0.2 Feet
Observations: Monday (7/13/20), There was only very light Gloeotrichia (blue-green algae) visible in the water column. We did not see any surface algae scum in near shore areas. Gloeotrichia is an early summer species of blue-green algae that gets its nutrients directly from the bottom sediments during the winter and spring. https://www.honeoyelakewatershed.org/habs
Water clarity has decreased by ~5 feet to 11.8 feet since last week due to turbidity caused by last Saturday night’s 1.75-inch rain storm. This is still over 50% higher than we usually see in early July (Water Clarity ~8 Feet). Surface water temperature was up only slightly to 79.7 F.
The lake is now strongly stratified and the water near the bottom below the thermocline has very low dissolved oxygen (anoxic). This means that the phosphorous/iron bond in the bottom sediments will weaken releasing phosphorus into the water near the bottom. The next time we get a North or South wind of 20+ MPH we may have a lake mixing event that will mix this phosphorus into the whole water column top to bottom providing fuel for a blue-green algae bloom.
Always use your own visual assessment before making contact with the lake water at this time of year as the blue-green algae situation can change daily if not hourly. Please regularly check the DEC HABs alert map for more detailed updates on Honeoye Lake HABs alerts: