ITHACA, N.Y. — A new $42 million investment by New York State aims to help farmers and municipalities improve water quality in the eastern Finger Lakes region, with the goal of curbing harmful algal blooms (HABs). The Eastern Finger Lakes watershed consists of Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles, and Otisco Lakes and their watersheds. The funds will be distributed between the region’s 11 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) over a five-year period, with the district that encompasses Ithaca receiving just over $760,000 a year, officials said.The funds will go to on-the-ground projects set forth by water quality improvement programs and plans that already exist, as determined by local and state agencies.Such projects support the improved management of roadside ditches and drainages as well as cost-share programs for farmers to implement practices that reduce agricultural runoff, among others. Harmful algal blooms consist of a type of bacterial algae called cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria release a toxin that causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Exposure can also lead to skin irritation, allergic reactions and breathing difficulties.These blooms form under excess nutrient concentrations, warm temperatures and calm winds, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Nutrients like phosphorus may leech into waterways from farming operations during heavy rain and from leaky and outdated septic systems, among other sources.The Community Science Institute, which monitors algal blooms, reported 80 harmful algal blooms in Cayuga Lake in 2023. So far this year, they’ve reported 35 HABs, including five since last Friday. This investment is supported by the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, which was approved by New York voters in 2022. State Assemblymember Anna Kelles, who represents the 125th State District that includes Tompkins County, advocated for the bill before the 2022 referendum. “The prevalence and pervasiveness of harmful algae blooms in our lakes and waterways negatively affects human health, wildlife, the integrity of water ecosystems, and ultimately the lifeblood of our economy here in the Finger Lakes,” Kelles said. Tompkins County SWCD district manager Jonathan Negley said the local concentration of streams, gorges and steep terrain mean there is a bigger need to mitigate stream bank erosion, in turn reducing nutrient runoff into Cayuga Lake.Negley said local officials will also work to improve management practices for road ditches, culverts and municipal highways. The goal is to curtail flooding and improve resilience to storms like Tropical Storm Debby that inundated parts of the Southern Tier earlier this month.On the agricultural side, Negley said the investment will also help farmers move toward implementing sustainable farming practices, such as rotational grazing practices and cover crop programs, among others.Negley said the funds will expand access to sustainable agriculture programs because it will allow the county to complete projects more quickly and serve more farmers.With this money, stacking multiple practices could be done with a quicker turnaround, he said. That process could normally take multiple years.The investment adds to the nearly half a billion dollars granted by the state to support statewide conservation programs designed to reduce the frequency of HABs.While smaller farmers are the ones that are least likely to have the capital to improve the sustainability and resiliency of their farming practices, Kelles said state grants can be so competitive some farmers have stopped applying altogether. This grant is a step toward helping farmers get access to otherwise unaffordable improvements in nutrient management, she said.“It is a start,” Kelles said. “It is nowhere near enough.”The post State investment will bring new funding for Cayuga Lake water protection appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.First published by The Ithaca Voice.