Managing the Lakes
Lakewide Action and Management Plans (LAMPs)
Lakewide Action and Management Plans (or LAMPs) are plans of action to assess, restore, protect and monitor the ecosystem health of each Great Lake, including Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in New York State, in partnership with other states and Canada. LAMPs are developed on a five-year rotational cycle under Annex 2 - Lakewide Management (leaves DEC website) of the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA).
General objectives identified in the GLWQA that guide LAMP efforts are as follows:
- Be a source of safe, high quality drinking water.
- Allow for unrestricted swimming and other recreational use.
- Allow for unrestricted human consumption of fish and wildlife.
- Be free from pollutants that could harm people, wildlife or organisms.
- Support healthy and productive habitats to sustain our native species.
- Be free from nutrients that promote unsightly algae or toxic blooms.
- Be free from aquatic and terrestrial invasive species.
- Be free from the harmful impacts of contaminated groundwater.
- Be free from other substances, materials, or conditions that may negatively affect the Great Lakes.
Lake Erie and Lake Ontario LAMPs
Lake Erie
Map of Lake Erie Basin showing lake bathymetry.
Credit: Environment and Climate Change Canada
As indicated in the 2017 State of the Great Lakes report (leaves DEC website), the overall health of Lake Erie is poor and deteriorating. The 2019-2023 Lake Erie LAMP was drafted, and a public review period was held. Comments are being reviewed and the updated LAMP (leaves DEC website) will be finalized later in 2020.
Priority threats identified:
- Nutrients and bacterial pollution;
- Chemical contaminants;
- Habitat and native species;
- Invasive species; and
- Climate trend impacts
Previous reports are available on EPA's website (leaves DEC website).
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River drainage basin
with Areas of Concern
Credit: Environment and Climate Change Canada
As indicated in the 2017 State of the Great Lakes report (leaves DEC website), the overall health of Lake Ontario is fair and unchanging. The 2018-2022 Lake Ontario LAMP was drafted, a public comment period was held, and the updated LAMP (leaves DEC website) will be finalized later in 2020.
Priority threats identified:
- Nutrient and bacterial-related impacts;
- Loss of habitat and native species;
- Invasive species; and
- Critical and emerging chemical contaminants
Previous reports are available on EPA's website (leaves DEC website).
Implementing the LAMPs
To implement the LAMPs and progress toward the achievement of the GLWQA general objectives within NY's portion of the Great Lakes, NYS agencies and partners are working on management actions, such as:
- restoring habitats for key species,
- controlling invasive species to reduce impacts,
- upgrading wastewater treatment infrastructure, and
- improving stormwater management using green infrastructure.
Researching and Monitoring the Lakes
The Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) (leaves DEC website) is a binational effort instituted under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to coordinate science and monitoring activities in one of the five Great Lakes each year to generate data and information for environmental management agencies.
