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Adirondack Council
Water Initiative
The Adirondack Council is focusing
conservation, advocacy, outreach and education efforts on addressing
the threats that are most likely to negatively impact the Park.
It is for this reason that the Adirondack Council is redoubling
its efforts to preserve the Park's water.
Great News!
Council's Advocacy Helps
Adirondack Communities Receive Money for
Water Quality Infastructure Projects
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West Mill Brook Tributary |
The
Council's efforts to protect the Park's water will ensure that
aquatic ecosystems are healthy and functioning properly and able
to provide the clean, fresh water that has been historically
characteristic of the Adirondack Park. Addressing major threats
to water quality, the Adirondack Council will focus on objectives
that will lead to tangible results, securing pure Adirondack
Park water for generations to come. |
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High
acidity levels in many Adirondack lakes make them inhospitable
to fish populations and create mercury
levels that make Adirondack fish unhealthy to eat. Aging sewage
and septic systems and run-off from farms add phosphorous and
nutrients to waterbodies, contaminating swimming areas and creating
a suitable environment for aquatic nuisance species like milfoil
and algae. High levels of chloride and sodium from the improper
storage and use of road salt is also contaminating drinking water
supplies and harming fish and amphibian communities.
Fortunately, the solutions to mitigate these threats to the Park's
waters have been identified.
Pharoah Lake
To reduce acid rain, the Adirondack Council will advocate
for and monitor the speedy
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implementation of the EPA
Clean Air Interstate Rule issued
in March 2005 reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions
from power plants in twenty-nine eastern states. We will also
work with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) to ensure low emissions vehicle standards are adopted and
implemented, to mirror those already in place in California.
To reduce toxic mercury poisoning, which comes with acid
deposition and is being found at increasing levels in our
fish, amphibians, and loons - the symbol of the Adirondack wilderness,
the Council will monitor the U.S. EPA's proposals for mercury
emissions reductions, advocating for deep cuts and opposing any
provisions to trade pollution allowances. We will also advocate
for increased funding for the Adirondack Lake Survey Corporation
in the New York State Budgets for 2006 and 2007 to expand monitoring
for mercury and its biological effects in Adirondack ecosystems.
Building on past successes to limit emissions from power plants,
the Council will work with the State Legislature and DEC to enact
limits on mercury emissions from power plants in New York State.
Hudson River in Newcomb |
To
control aquatic invasive species,
including Eurasian milfoil, water chestnut, zebra mussels, and
lampreys, which choke out native species and interfere with water
quality and recreational activities, the Adirondack Council will
raise awareness through a public education campaign about the
impact of invasive species and how they enter our waterways.
We will continue to collaborate with the Adirondack Watershed
Institute and co-sponsor the Annual Adirondack
Water Quality Conference. |
The Council will also continue to
work with the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP)
to design an Adirondack invasive species strategy to prevent
their dispersal, restore infested areas, and ensure increased
funding to sustain APIPP's work. Finally, we will advocate for
legislation on invasive species with funding incentives for Adirondack
communities to control invasive species with non-toxic means.
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upgrade wastewater treatment systems, which include outdated septic and municipal sewage
treatment systems, which allow pollutants to flow into our waterways
and threaten our drinking water supplies and human health, the
Council will promote legislation requiring inspections and improvements
for residential on-site wastewater treatment systems with financial
incentives to ensure compliance. We will also advocate for additional
funding for Adirondack communities to undertake community |
Lake Mary Louise |
planning to project their
needs and secure funds for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure.
To prevent runoff from overdeveloped
shorelines and inappropriate farming practices, Adirondack Council will advocate for
Adirondack Park Agency Act reforms focusing on shoreline development
including larger setbacks, lot sizes and vegetative buffers to
reduce runoff and improve water quality.
To limit contamination from
road salt, which finds
its way into our waterways and drinking water supplies threatening
public health, the Council will promote legislative action requiring
proper storage and prudent application of road salt and the use
of alternative ice controls on roadways in the Park.
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