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Owasco Lake Watershed Inspector
Ten years ago, the city of Auburn had the best-tasting drinking water in New York State. Now, the lake's healthy balance is in danger due to a variety of non-point source pollutants including septic systems, agriculture, and wastewater treatment plants. Now, nearly two years after the idea was first suggested, and one year after the proposal got some state funding, Owasco Lake has a watershed inspector.
City resident and Cayuga County native, Jessica Miles, spent most of her first days on the job making phone calls and signing paperwork. The following days and weeks took her outside the office at the County Soil & Water Conservation District and into the lake.
"The first thing for me is to get informed about the many things I might encounter, the 22-year old Miles said. While earning her bachelor's degree in technology with a focus on wildlife management from SUNY Cobleskill, a 15-weel internship with the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation shaped Miles' career path.
Working as a delineator testing soil and water to determine wetland boundaries eventually brought her back home. "My grandparents lived on Owasco Lake for many years," the Port Bryon High School graduate said. "To go out and improve something that's been such an integral part of my life means a lot to me."
Along with the County Soil & Water Conservation District, Water Quality Management Agency, city and town of Owasco, Miles will essentially be writing the job description and duties as she goes. However, one goal of the job is clear: To improve and protect the
quality of the lake.
"I think this is the first step in turning this lake around," said Owasco town board member John Klink, who also sat on the committee of city, town and county representatives that hired Miles. "I think we'll look back 50 years from now and say, "This is when we started to turn this around."
The full-time watershed inspector will do that in part by inspecting properties in the watershed and educating the public. The job's biggest challenge will be changing attitudes and practices around the weed-laden lake that serves as the water source for more than 45,000 in the county, Miles said.
"I really would like to become not so much an enforcer, as an educator, helping people learn about the lake and respect it." The contract provides $35,000 annual salary for the steward, with $13,300 in benefits, $2,000 for travel expenses, $2800 for a vehicle fund, $2655 for an office and $4,245 for miscellaneous items.
Auburn municipal water users will front 85% of the $60,000 expected from the office of Sen. Michael Nozzolio and Owasco users picking up the remaining 15 percent. The two municipalities will raise taxes by 3 cents per 100 cubic feet or 750 gallons.
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Everyone lives in a watershed
By Jessica Miles
A watershed is an area of land that drains into a stream, river or lake. No matter where you live, the water that you use or that runs through your property will eventually end up in a stream, river or lake. Although Owasco Lake is only 10.7 miles long and an average of 1.2 miles wide, its watershed covers 208 square miles.
The watershed is so large, it is in Cayuga, Tompkins and Onondaga counties. Owasco Lake serves as a drinking source for more than 50 percent of the people living in Cayuga County. Activities that occur within the watershed can have an impact on the water quality, whether they occur directly on the lake or many miles from it.
As the watershed inspector for Owasco Lake, my job is to protect the lake and all of the streams that flow to it.
Under the public health law, there are rules and regulations to protect Owasco Lake, as well as the entire watershed. These rules and regulations deal with a variety of issues, including septic systems, agriculture, herbicides and pesticides and pollutants.
I hope to help people understand the importance of these rules and regulations and help them minimize their impact on the lake.
Another significant part of my job is to help educate residents about the importance of their watershed and ways in which they can improve it.
Many people ask me if I have cleaned up Owasco Lake yet. Although I know I can make a definite improvement in the quality of the lake, I cannot do it alone.
In order to protect our beautiful lake and drinking water source, we need to protect its entire watershed as well.
Owasco Lake needs everyone living in the watershed to be more environmentally friendly and mindful of how their choices can negatively impact their watershed community.
Together we can improve Owasco Lake and preserve it for future generations.
Want to know if you live in the Owasco Lake Watershed? Visit www.co.cayuga.ny.us/wqma/ and click on maps to view a map of the entire Owasco Lake Watershed.
Also, the Owasco Lake Rules and Regulations can be viewed at www.co.cayuga.ny.us/wqma/projects/wsrules.
On the first Thursday of every month, the Cayuga County Water Quality Management Agency meets at the Cayuga County Office Building at 10AM. At this meeting, I give a brief presentation of the work that I have completed over the past month.
These monthly reports can be viewed on my Web page at www.co.cayuga.ny.us/wqma/owascoinspector.
If you see an activity within the Owasco Lake Watershed that may be harming the water quality, please call me at 252-4171 ext. 120 during business hours.
To report an emergency during the evening or weekend, call 253-8754, and to report an emergency spill, contact the NYS DEC 24-Hour Spill Notification Hotline at (877) 457-7362.
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