This will be our last Honeoye Lake water quality report for the 2024 summer season. We will resume water quality reports in mid-May 2025. We will provide HLWTF blog updates periodically this fall and winter when there is Honeoye Lake news like fall color peak, ice in and ice out dates, FLCC Muller Field Station newsletter updates, etc. Please check our HLWTF blog periodically over the fall and winter to keep up with what is happing that you might be interested in.
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The Northern Lights display was beautiful over Honeoye Lake last Thursday night! The picture on the left was taken from the Honeoye Lake Northern Lake Basin Thursday night.
Photo Credit: Dan LaLonde
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Friday October 11, 2024 Honeoye Lake Water Quality
Surface Water Temperature: ~ 62.8 F
Water Clarity: ~5.3 Feet
Lake Level: ~803.3 feet above sea level
Observations: Friday (10/11/24), Water clarity was ~5.3 feet about ~0.6 feet lower than last Sunday under a sunny sky. The decline in water clarity was due to a small increase in blue-green algae visible in the water column since last Sunday. The surface water temperature was ~62.8 F ~3.2 F cooler than last Sunday. The lake is well into its normal fall cooling pattern. It was a nice sunny fall day to be out on Honeoye Lake!
We were able to check several near shore locations for blue-green algae blooms today. Most near shore locations we checked still had about the same amount of blue-green algae visible in the water column today as compared to last Sunday. We did not see any blue-green algae surface scum. We expect the blue-green algae to slowly dissipate over the next few weeks as the lake water continues to get colder. Since there is 10 miles of Honeoye Lake shoreline there is likely to be several other locations currently experiencing blue-green algae blooms sone with surface scum this week. Please regularly check the DEC HABs alert map for more detailed updates. Just click on the link below. Then click on the blue dots on the DEC HABs map to see pictures, locations, and dates of Honeoye Lake HABs alerts:
Anabaena (Dolchospermum) (looks like a spring), Aphanizomenon (looks like a leaf), Limnoraphis (looks like a rod), and Microcystis (looks like a cluster of small round cells) have become the dominate blue-green algae species. See the images below: Expect to continue to see blue-green algae blooms lake wide over the next few weeks particularly when we have 80-90 F days with calm winds. More information on blue-green algae can be found at: https://www.honeoyelakewatershed.org/habs
Several research studies have found that most of the phosphorus that fuels Honeoye Lake’s blue-green algae blooms is released from the lake bottom sediments when the lake’s dissolved oxygen level goes below 0.50 mg/L in the deeper parts of the lake. The dissolved oxygen (DO) level near the lake bottom at ~9.0 m (~30.0 feet) was ~ 8.60 mg/L today. Therefore, no phosphorus should currently be released from the bottom sediments, The lake was isothermal today meaning that the water temperature was uniform from top to bottom. You can see that by the convergence of the temperature lines from all depths on today’s temperature graph on the left. The dissolved oxygen was well mixed at a high-level top to bottom too.
Always use your own visual assessment before making contact with the lake water at this time of year as the blue-green algae situation can change daily if not hourly. Please report your HABs sightings and regularly check the DEC HABs alert map for more detailed updates on Honeoye Lake HABs alerts:
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Honeoye Lake Receives a New Tool to Fight Aquatic Invasive Species
The Honeoye Lake community has a new tool to fight the spread of aquatic invasive species that severely alter and damage lake environments. A waterless, boater-operated cleaning system developed by CD3, a Minnesota-based company (the land of 10,000 lakes), recently arrived! The cleaning station will be conveniently located at the NYS Honeoye Lake Marine Boat Launch in the spring of 2025 and will be free for all to use.
The cleaning station will complement the work of the watercraft stewards who inspect boats and trailers and provide education about invasive species to launch users. The CD3 cleaning station is made possible through the NYS DEC Finger Lakes Watershed Grant Program to Ontario County with matching contributions from the Towns of Richmond and Canadice and Ontario County Water Resources Council.
CD3 stands for “Clean, Drain, Dry and Dispose”. The standalone, self-service unit offers an air blower, wet-dry vacuum, and hand tools to help boaters remove and dispose of water, weeds, and debris, including leftover bait.
Starting next spring, the CD3 System will help the boating community take an active role in stopping the spread of invasive species (like milfoil and zebra mussels) from Honeoye Lake as well as to the lake (such as starry stonewort and hydrilla, which are present in other Finger Lakes but have not been identified in Honeoye). A free, self-service boat cleaning system will make it easier for day boaters to do their part to protect local lakes and fisheries.
More information is forthcoming in 2025. For more information on the cleaning system visit cd3systems.com.
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Please click on the link below to see the September Muller Field Station Newsletter:
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DEC Update on Honeoye Alum treatment:
We are continuing to monitor the lake and collect further information, and will evaluate it over the coming months.
The follow-up evaluation will look at all aspects of the project, including water quality results, design assumptions, material quality control, and response of lake water and sediment quality to the alum application.
The evaluation is expected to be completed in 2024 and will supplement the water quality and biological diversity monitoring in the lake to help understand long-term implications of the inactivant treatment.
The output of the review will be a report highlighting lessons learned and areas of improvement for future nutrient inactivant applications.
DEC plans to provide water quality monitoring results and the evaluation results in an information session in early 2025. Participants will be able to engage with DEC staff to ask questions and provide comments and feedback on the project during the information session.
Any and all additional questions can be directed to HoneoyeAlum2022@dec.ny.gov or to 518-402-8179 at central office.
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The Town of Richmond has posted an update on their plans to address the Mill Creek and Outlet Creek issues on their town web site. The Mill Creek Master Plan Phase 1 construction has started. You can read their update by clicking on the link below:
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Click on the link below to see the Honeoye Lake Watershed Task Force 2024 Winter Newsletter:
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DEC Big Panfish Initiative (BPI)
The Big Panfish Initiative (BPI) was developed to create destination fisheries for larger size panfish in select waters including Honeoye Lake. The BPI is an experimental program that is being conducted to determine the impacts of lower harvest and minimum size limits on sunfish population age and size structure in select lakes throughout New York and to evaluate the level of angler satisfaction with this management strategy. It also includes an assessment of crappie population age and growth characteristics in select waters to determine if those waters have the potential to yield larger fish under more conservative harvest regulations.
Review complete details in the Big Panfish Initiative Study Plan, 2021-2026 (PDF)
DEC BPI Study Updates can be found on the links below:
2021 BPI Study Report Cards (PDF) | 2022 BPI Study Report Cards (PDF)
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New York Safe Boating Class Certificate will be required of all boaters on this schedule:
If born on or after: You will need boating safety certificate to operate motorized vessel in:
January 1, 1988 2022
January 1, 1983 2023
January 1, 1978 2024
All operators of motorized vessels, regardless of age, will need a boating safety certificate by January 1, 2025.
Click on the link below for more information and the schedule of local NYS Safe Boating classes:
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