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Tuesday July 2, 2024 Honeoye Lake Water Quality
Surface Water Temperature: ~75.9 F
Water Clarity: ~8.2 Feet
Lake Level: 803.6 Feet above sea level - Increase of 0.4 feet (~4.8 inches) since last week
Observations: Tuesday (7/2/24), Water clarity was ~8.2 about 3.0 feet lower than Monday 6/24. Even though this morning was sunny the drop in water clarity was due to a noticeable increase of
Gloeotrichia in the water column. The surface water temperature decreased ~3.2 F to ~72.7 F from Monday 6/24 due to the cooler weather and colder rain we got last weekend. It was a very nice day to be out on Honeoye Lake!
We were able to check our 10 near shore locations around the lake for blue-green algae blooms today. We visually could see Gloeotrichia, a blue-green algae, of varying intensity at all 10 locations that we checked today. The wind this morning was from the SW. We found blue-green algae blooms the heaviest along the NE shore of the Northern Lake Basin. See pictures below: The Sandy Bottom Park Swimming Beach is currently closed due to a blue-green algae bloom. Since we only check 10 locations along the 10 miles of Honeoye Lake shoreline there is likely to be several other locations currently experiencing blue-green algae blooms this week. Please regularly check the DEC HABs alert map for more detailed updates on Honeoye Lake HABs alerts:
We found increasing amounts of Gloeotrichia (lots of small spikes) today both in near shore areas and open water in the water column and Aphanizomenon (looks like a leaf). We did not find any Anabaena (Dolchospermum) (looks like a spring) in today’s algae sample but expect that it is still present. You should be watchful for Gloeotrichia, Anabaena, and Aphanizomenon blooms lake wide. These are all blue-green algae species. Expect to see Gloeotrichia, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon blooms over the next few weeks particularly when we have 80-90 F days with calm winds. See pictures below: More information on Gloeotrichia and Anabaena can be found at: https://www.honeoyelakewatershed.org/habs
We also found significant amounts of Duckweed (Lemnoideae) and Watermeal (Wolffia) on the lake’s surface near the inlet. Duckweed and Watermeal are aquatic plants not cyanobacteria. See Picture on the left.
Several research studies have found that most of the phosphorus that fuels Honeoye Lake’s blue-green algae blooms is released from the lake bottom sediments when the lake’s dissolved oxygen level goes below 0.50 mg/L in the deeper parts of the lake. The dissolved oxygen (DO) level near the lake bottom at ~9.0 m (~30feet) was 5.62 mg/L today. This means that we had a lake mixing event last weekend due to the heavy cold rain and strong winds. This mixing event may have contributed a small amount of phosphorus, since the lake was only startified for a short period of time, to the surface water partially fueling the current increase in Gloeotrichia. The lake was not stratified today. This will stop the release of phosphorus from the bottom sediments until the lake stratifies again and the dissolved oxygen goes below 0.5 mg/L. See how the lake mixing event caused water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels to converge top to bottom on today’s temperature and dissolved oxygen graphs on the left.
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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Muller Field Station Honeoye Inlet European Frogbit Pulls Summer 2024
An emergent population of European frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae), an undesirable invasive species, was first detected in the Honeoye Inlet last summer. In hopes of curtailing this population from further spread, Muller Field Station is hosting three community pulls/monitoring surveys this summer in partnership with Finger Lakes Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Canoes, paddles, and life jackets provided. Plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to start time to account for parking, getting prepped for paddle, etc. Come prepared with water, lunch, and proper attire to paddle- rain or shine. Events will be cancelled in event of thunderstorms. Limited number of participants will be accepted for each event. A separate registration form is required for every participant. Please RVSP no later than two days before scheduled event using the link below:
Wednesday June 5th, 10-1pm
Friday Jun 21st, 10-1pm
Wednesday July 3rd, 10-1pm
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The Town of Richmond has posted an update on their plans to address the Mill Creek and Outlet Creek issues on their town web site. You can read their update by clicking on the link below:
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Click on the link below to see the June Muller Field Station Newsletter:
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Click on the link below to see the Honeoye Lake Watershed Task Force 2024 Winter Newsletter:
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DEC Big Panfish Initiative (BPI)
The Big Panfish Initiative (BPI) was developed to create destination fisheries for larger size panfish in select waters including Honeoye Lake. The BPI is an experimental program that is being conducted to determine the impacts of lower harvest and minimum size limits on sunfish population age and size structure in select lakes throughout New York and to evaluate the level of angler satisfaction with this management strategy. It also includes an assessment of crappie population age and growth characteristics in select waters to determine if those waters have the potential to yield larger fish under more conservative harvest regulations.
Review complete details in the Big Panfish Initiative Study Plan, 2021-2026 (PDF)
DEC BPI Study Updates can be found on the links below:
2021 BPI Study Report Cards (PDF) | 2022 BPI Study Report Cards (PDF)
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New York Safe Boating Class Certificate will be required of all boaters on this schedule:
If born on or after: You will need boating safety certificate to operate motorized vessel in:
January 1, 1988 2022
January 1, 1983 2023
January 1, 1978 2024
All operators of motorized vessels, regardless of age, will need a boating safety certificate by January 1, 2025.
Click on the link below for more information and the schedule of local NYS Safe Boating classes:
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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:
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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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