DEC and Finger Lakes Land Trust Announce the Permanent Protection of 260 Acres to Safeguard Cayuga County Water Quality

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) today announced a perpetual conservation easement on 260 acres in Central New York as part of the state's Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) program. WQIP funds projects that directly improve water quality or habitat, promote flood risk reduction, restoration, and enhanced flood and climate resiliency, or protect a drinking water source. DEC's sustained partnership with FLLT will have lasting impacts on Cayuga Lake water quality and habitat and complements the State's ongoing commitment to reduce the frequency of harmful algal blooms and a recently announced pollution reduction budget to improve water quality standards.

"Clean water begins on land and DEC and our partners are continuing to transform State investments into water quality solutions that will last for generations," DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said. "DEC is proud to again partner with the Finger Lakes Land Trust to preserve vulnerable headwaters and help protect Cayuga Lake water quality at the source for generations to come."

"Completion of this conservation easement is a win for water quality in Fall Creek, the largest tributary to Cayuga Lake," said FLLT President Andrew Zepp. "We're grateful to the landowners and New York State for their commitment to this project through the source water protection program."

FLLT received $921,000 from DEC's WQIP grant program to protect multiple properties within the Cayuga Shallows area. The funding will allow FLLT to conserve properties with land cover including forests, wetlands, and open space that benefits source water protection. The FLLT easement will establish riparian buffers to prevent potential pollutants from running off the land and into the drinking water source.

Hall Property

One of the properties protected through a conservation easement and using a portion of the WQIP grant funds is the 260-acre Hall property in the town of Summerhill, Cayuga County. The property features 10,000 feet of frontage on Fall Creek, the source of Cornell University's drinking water supply and largest tributary to Cayuga Lake. The easement will include a 120-acre buffer zone comprised of high-quality wetland on this section of Fall Creek that will be left in its natural state.

The property includes diverse upland forest, wetlands that include rare orchid species, and agricultural fields that will be left in production according to the terms of the easement. This project is part of a broader effort by the FLLT to secure high-quality fish and wildlife habitat in and around Fall Creek's headwaters. This area supports native brook trout and a portion of it is located within one of New York's Important Bird Areas. The Hall property is located in proximity to other permanently protected lands including Summerhill State Forest and the FLLT's Dorothy McIlroy Bird Sanctuary, which is adjacent to Lake Como, the headwaters of Fall Creek.

Protection of the property helps secure Cornell University's drinking water, which is drawn from Fall Creek, and also helps maintain municipal water supplies drawn from Cayuga Lake. FLLT is actively working on acquiring additional parcels in the area using the remaining grant funds in the Cayuga Lake watershed.

Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements that permanently limit future land use in order to protect the land's conservation value. Lands subject to conservation easements remain in private ownership, on local tax rolls, and available for traditional uses such as farming and hunting.

Water Quality Improvement Project Program

In May, Governor Hochul announced nearly $300 million in climate resiliency funding available that included at least $215 million for WQIP projects funded through the State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), Clean Water Infrastructure Act (CWIA), and the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022, combined. Applications were accepted through July and DEC is reviewing submissions. Earlier this year, $146 million in announced WQIP grants is helping support municipal wastewater treatment upgrades, polluted runoff abatement and control, land acquisition projects for drinking water protection, salt storage construction, aquatic connectivity restoration, and marine habitat restoration. More information on this program is available on the DEC WQIP website.

Additional Efforts to Protect Drinking Water Resources

Governor Kathy Hochul's recently announced a $42 million investment in the eastern Finger Lakes region that fulfills the Governor's 2024 State of the State commitment to develop on-the-ground actions necessary to address the root causes of harmful algal blooms and significantly reduce their prevalence while supporting projects that help prevent runoff into lakes and improve climate resiliency. Earlier this month, DEC also announced the finalization of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved nutrient pollution reduction "budget" to help restore the water quality of Cayuga Lake's southern end for recreation and help protect drinking water. The Total Maximum Daily Load for the lake provides a detailed analysis of phosphorus pollutant sources, recommends a 30-percent reduction of phosphorus from the watershed to meet the lake's water quality standards and will be used by stakeholders throughout the entire watershed to improve water quality.

DEC and the State Department of Health, in collaboration with the Departments of Agriculture and Markets and State, also created the Drinking Water Source Protection Program (DWSP2) to assist municipalities with proactively protecting their drinking water sources. Communities work with a technical assistance provider, free of charge, to develop and initiate implementation of their drinking water source protection program. DWSP2 plans protect both public health and water quality of surface and groundwater across the state. To date, DWSP2 has served nearly 2.5 million water consumers and evaluated 136 source waters in New York State. If interested in becoming one of more than 100 municipalities participating in DWSP2, please visit the DWSP2 webpage to fill out an interest form and view example plans, factsheets, and past newsletters. For further questions, reach out to the DWSP2 Team at [email protected].

New York's Commitment to Water Quality

New York State continues to increase its nation-leading investments in water infrastructure, including more than $2.2 billion in financial assistance from Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) for local water infrastructure projects in State Fiscal Year 2024 alone. With $500 million allocated for clean water infrastructure in the FY24 Enacted Budget announced by Governor Hochul, New York will have invested a total of $5.5 billion in water infrastructure between 2017 and this year. The funding is in addition to other substantial water quality investments, including the voter-approved $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 which is advancing historic levels of funding to update aging water infrastructure and protect water quality, strengthen communities' ability to withstand severe storms and flooding, reduce air pollution and lower climate-altering emissions, restore habitats, and preserve outdoor spaces and local farms. Governor Hochul's State of the State initiatives are helping to ensure ongoing coordination with local governments and ensure communities can leverage these investments. The Governor increased WIIA grants for wastewater projects from 25 to 50 percent of net eligible project costs for small, disadvantaged communities. The Governor also expanded the State's EFC Community Assistance Teams to help small, rural and disadvantaged communities leverage this funding and address their clean water infrastructure needs. Any community that needs help with its water infrastructure is encouraged to contact EFC.

Fall Creek and Trail photo credit, Chris McAuliffe

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