2015 HAB Program
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The Harmful Alagal Bloom (HAB) Monitoring program was created for Owasco Lake in 2015. The program's purpose is to better understand the extent and conditions under which blooms occur - with a focus on runoff events and nutrient loading - and determine whether cyanobacteria is toxic.
The HAB program is funded and sponsored by: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), Owasco Watershed Lake Association (OWLA), and Cayuga County Department of Health.
2015 Bloom and Toxin Results
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Heavy precipitation events in late-spring and early summer, followed by warm temperatures in August and September, created the lake conditions for HABs to develop more frequently than previous years (see map below for bloom locations).
Between July and Early October, 23 samples were analyzed for Blue Green Chlorophyll a (density of a bloom) and toxin concentrations; of the 23 samples, 15 contained toxins above the NYSDEC threshold (see table below).
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2015 Owasco Lake HAB Locations
