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Terry Gronwall

Monday July 25th, 2022 Honeoye Lake Water Quality

Surface Water Temperature: ~78.3 F

Water Clarity: ~7.3 Feet

Lake Level: 803.0 Feet above sea level

Lake Level Relative to Weir: -0.5 Feet


Observations: Monday (7/25/22), The water clarity has increased ~0.7 feet to ~7.3 feet and the surface water temperature was increased ~1.5 to ~78.3 F over the last week. The lake had restratified again by last Thursday. This was unusually quick as it usually takes a week or longer to restratify.


There was visible algae in the water column at most of our HAB monitoring locations. It looks like green dots in the water column. We did not see any areas with surface algae scum.


We took the images of today’s Anabaena and Gloeotrichia algae samples below using a high-powered microscope. For more information on Anabaena and Gloeotrichia see the articles at HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS | Honeoye Lake (honeoyelakewatershed.org) or search the internet for information.


The DEC recommends that you, your family, and pets avoid contact with water that contains a blue-green algae bloom like Anabaena and Gloeotrichia. Everyone should be very careful to watch for blue-green algae blooms for the next few weeks.


As of last Thursday (7/22/22) the lake was restratified again. This was unusually quick as it usually takes a week or longer to restratify. You can see this by the divergence of the temperature and dissolved oxygen graph lines for the various depths on the left. Today (Monday 7/25/22) the dissolved oxygen at 7 m (23.1 feet) was only 0.81 mg/L low enough to weaken the phosphorus iron bond releasing phosphorus into the deep bottom water again. About 550 acres of bottom sediment is 7 m or deeper. Surface water temperature was ~78.3 F and bottom water temperature was ~71.8 F. 1-meter equals 3.3 feet.

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:


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Summer Employment

Do you love the Finger Lakes? Get paid to help protect them!

Watercraft Steward:

This program is responsible for public outreach and education on preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS). Under the supervision of Finger Lakes Institute (FLI) at Hobart and William Smith Colleges staff, Watercraft Stewards will offer inspections of watercraft for AIS and will educate boaters on AIS and prevention protocols. Inspections include AIS removal and identification, and data collection. Training will be provided.

This is a great program for anyone looking to spend time outdoors this summer, and for those looking to build on a career in environmental studies or science, conservation, interpretation, ecology, or biology. Build valuable skills in communication, education, plant identification, and more by joining our watercraft steward team!

Positions: 6+ at $15.00 - $15.50

Locations: Public boat launches on Hemlock, Canadice, Honeoye, Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco and Otisco Lakes and surrounding areas, Whitney Point Reservoir, Sodus Bay and parts of the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario in Rochester, NY.

To apply, and for more information, follow this link:


Aquatic Invasive Species Field Crews:

With assistance from Finger Lakes Institute (FLI) and Finger Lakes Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (FL PRISM), will assist in field work, outreach, and education related to various aquatic invasive species (AIS) programs. Crews will work with managers to survey, monitor, and manage high-priority AIS. Crews will collect plant survey data on waterbodies throughout the Finger Lakes region. Training is included.

These are great positions for anyone looking to spend time outdoors this summer, and for those looking to begin a career in the fields of environmental studies or science, conservation, ecology, or biology. Build valuable skills in plant identification, data collection, field work, teamwork and more by joining one of our field teams!

Positions: 2+ at $15.00 - $15.50/hour

Locations: Geneva, NY, with travel throughout the Finger Lakes Region

To apply, and for more information, follow this link:


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The Town of Richmond has obtained an emergency DEC permit to dredge the shale and sediment deposits out of Mill Creek from just behind the Mill Creek Café to the 20A bridge and under the 20A bridge in the NYS DOT Road right away. Last week (Week of July 18th) they started installing large rocks on the Mill Creek stream bank, south of the Mill Creek Café, to prevent erosion. This week they intend to install more large rocks along Mill Creek’s stream banks. See attached pictures. This project should reduce flooding risk from Mill Creek in the Hamlet and lessen the negative impact Mill Creek is having on the Outlet Creek flow. Richmond is working on a long-range plan to address other stream flow issues in the Outlet Creek and Mill Creek. We will keep you posted.


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- Click on this link for the Winter 2022 HLWTF Newsletter:




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- Click on this link to see the new HLWTF Honeoye Lake Watershed Storm Water Took Kit if you are planning any storm water projects on your property:


- Click on this link for "Honeoye Lake: 2021 State of the Lake article":


Draft Aeration Planning Project Report, Public Information Meeting Presentation, and WebEx recording posted on the HLWTF web site:


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Click on the blue outlined box that says "Log in / Sign up" in the upper right-hand corner of this page to sign-up to be notified when we update our weekly Honeoye Lake water quality blog.


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