Tuesday July 22, 2025 Honeoye Lake Water Quality
- Terry Gronwall
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
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Tuesday July 22, 2025 Honeoye Lake Water Quality
Surface Water Temperature: ~77.9 F
Water Clarity: ~5.6 Feet
Lake Level: 803.1 Feet above sea level
Observations: Tuesday (7/22/25), Water clarity was ~5.6 feet the about 2.7 feet less than last week due to a noticeable increase of algae in the water column. The surface water temperature was ~77.9 F about 5.0 F less than last week due to the cooler weather we have been having. It was sunny with a calm wind today. It was a beautiful day to be out on Honeoye Lake.
Gloeotrichia (lots of small spikes) is no longer the dominant blue-green algae species. See picture on the left. Anabaena (Dolchospermum) (looks like a spring or chain of beads), Aphanizomenon (looks like a leaf) and Limnoraphis (looks like a rod) are becoming the dominant blue-green algae species. You should be watchful for Gloeotrichia, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, and Limnoraphis blooms lake wide. These are all blue-green (cyanobacteria) algae species. We expect to see Gloeotrichia, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, and Limnoraphis blooms continue over the next few weeks particularly when we have 80-90 F days with calm winds. See microscope pictures below: More information on Gloeotrichia and Anabaena can be found at: https://www.honeoyelakewatershed.org/habs
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 0.5 mg/L in the deeper parts of the lake breaking the phosphors/iron bond in the bottom sediments releasing phosphorus into the water column. The dissolved oxygen (DO) level near the lake bottom at ~7.0 m (~23.1 feet) was 0.40 mg/L and at ~9 m (~30 feet) was 0.18 mg/L today. This means that phosphorus is currently being released from the deep bottom sediments into the deepest part of the lake water. When we have a complete lake mixing event the deep lake water, with excessive amounts of phosphorus, will be mixed into the whole water column potentially fueling a blue-green algae bloom. Lake was stratified (i.e. had a thermocline) at ~5 m (~16.5 feet) deep. Today's temperature and DO graphs will be posted on the left in a day or two when they are ready.
Today at our open water site and the 10 near shore sites we checked, we found a significant increase in blue-green algae in the water column but did not see any blue-green algae surface blooms. See picture on the left. However, we expect that there are currently some surface blue-green algae blooms at isolated near shore locations around the lake. There were 8 blue-green algae blooms reported to the DEC HABs alert map between 7/7-7/13 and 3 blue-green algae blooms reported to the DEC between 7/14-7/20. Since Honeoye Lake has ~10 miles of shoreline your most accurate source of blue-green algae blooms is the crowd source bloom data found on the DEC HABs alert map (NYHABS).
When Gloeotrichia dies its reproductive resting cells settle on the shallow water bottom sediments where it directly absorbs phosphorus from the bottom sediments over winter and spring and blooms again the next year in mid-June to early July. Gloeotrichia does not depend on the deep-water phosphorus release cycle to get its nutrients like the rest of the blue-green algae species.
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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2025 Honeoye Lake Fishery Update
Pete Austerman
Aquatic Biologist
NYSDEC Region 8 Fisheries
Click on the link below:
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Click on the link below to see the Honeoye Lake Watershed Task Force 2025 Winter Newsletter:
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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 the link below to see the Honeoye Lake Watershed Stormwater Toolkit:
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