Environment DEC
From the August 2006 issue
The Return to Glory of Onondaga Lake
From the birthplace of the Iroquois Confederacy, to a cradle of industry and renowned tourist destination, to a dumping ground for industrial waste, the history of Onondaga Lake is a textbook example of "killing the goose that laid the golden egg." The August issue of Conservationist magazine tells of the decades-long commitment to restore one of the most polluted lakes in the country to its full potential as an environmental and economic resource.
A History of Environmental Abuse
Onondaga Lake, once one of the
most polluted lakes in the United
States, has improved significantly
since restoration efforts began
-photo by American Aerial Scenes
In "Return to Glory-The Resurgence of Onondaga Lake," Karen Williamson, an educator in DEC's Division of Water, and Don Hesler, a geologist in DEC's Division of Environmental Remediation, trace the history of Onondaga Lake in good times and in bad. According to Williamson, "At the turn of the century, near the height of popularity of the lake's resorts, two activities began that would ultimately lead to their demise: municipal waste discharges and industrial waste disposal."
By 1938 the last of Onondaga Lake's grand resorts had closed. Five years later, on Thanksgiving Day, 1943, a nearby dike holding back industrial waste failed. A two-mile area of the adjacent state fairgrounds was inundated with the flowing chemical waste that roused people from their homes and carried away parked cars. Twenty years later, Onondaga Lake was a mess. Heavy discharges of mercury, benzene, PCBs and chromium had contaminated the lakes's bottom sediments and tributaries. Sewage sludge would rise to the surface where it combined with algae to form floating mats of decaying material, causing sulfide and methane gas to drift over lakeside communities as they decomposed.
A Natural Wonder Rises from the Ashes
But with the passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972, Onondaga Lake started on the road to recovery. Since then, major projects, including building a modern wastewater treatment plant, reducing industrial discharges and fixing past damage, have brought the lake back from the brink. And after years of research, legal action and community involvement, the cleanup of more than 300 years of environmental abuse is well underway.
Geologist Don Hesler oversees DEC staff dedicated to the cleanup of Ononodaga Lake. Says Hesler, "While the cleanup progresses, both public and private interests are looking toward the day when Onondaga Lake is clean. Imagine the future...cyclists circle Onondaga Lake's clear blue waters on a warm sunny day, while picnickers enjoy the scenery...anglers pull trophy fish from its waters as swimmers splash at nearby beaches."
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