[SustainableTompkins] Water Rights and Land Fill Effects

[Jennifer Dotson]

I do know that Cayuga Lake has its inlets here at the south end and its 
outlets at the north end. From what I understand, there is some more 
complex current activity within the lake, including a circular Coreolis 
effect and other less-understood patterns, not to mention the fact that 
it's REALLY deep and therefore many contaminants (harmful & benign) 
settle in the relatively inaccessible bottom.

My guess (based on these large-scale mostly-consistent patterns) is that 
we should be more concerned about what's going in toward our end of the 
lake (Six Mile Creek, Inlet, etc.), or near any particular intakes, than 
with landfills near the north end.

Of course it's all a problem one place or another, so I'm not saying Mt 
Trashmore is benign. Just not affecting us so much. I think we suffer a 
whole lot more from the tailpipes of the trucks delivering to it.

Jennifer

Jan Quarles wrote:
> I'm concerned about the land fill(s) surrounding Cayuga Lake, and their 
> effects on our water quality. We have one of NY's largest right here in 
> Seneca County. You can't miss it on your way up to the NY Thruway; it's a 
> giant mountain. It's euphemistically called "Seneca Meadows," but us locals 
> refer to it as "Mount Trashmore." Seneca Falls gets big bucks for importing 
> tons of garbage daily from PA, NJ, MA and NYC. Seeing all these huge trucks 
> on Rte 89 every day, I got concerned about all this unfiltered garbage 
> coming into our region. It's enough of a challenge to deal with our own 
> garbage! I am especially concerned because we pump water directly from the 
> lake, and use it to water our big organic veggie garden. When I read last 
> Spring that they're expanding Mt. Trashmore, I contacted the Cayuga Lake 
> Watershed Network (CLWN) to see if Sharon Anderson (Steward of CLWN) knew 
> anything about its effect on Cayuga Lake. She wrote back that it's being 
> monitored by the EPA. This doesn't satisfy me, though, because we all know 
> that the Bush Admin. appointed the foxes to watch the hen houses. Does 
> anyone know about any info or citizen action on this issue?
>
> I also asked Sharon about the issue of WATER RIGHTS  -- i.e., the 
> probability that private companies like CocaCola will try to purify and sell 
> bottled water en masse from the lake, as companies are already doing in Lake 
> Michigan and in thousands of towns in America. She said the CLWN doesn't get 
> involved with that aspect of water. I think there's some action on the State 
> level -- some proposed legislation to pre-empt private ownership of our 
> watershed, which, in my mind, belongs to us all as "the commons." I'm part 
> of "Back To Democracy" (based in Trumansburg) and we'd like to convene a 
> public meeting about water rights, as well as the effects of the land fill 
> and all this imported garbage on the lake, so if anyone has info on local 
> people who are working on these problems, it would be great connect with 
> them. One issue for citizens who surround the lake is: Why should Seneca 
> Falls benefit financially while our bodies pay the price?
>
> I saw a recent article in the Ithaca Times about a group of citizens 
> (including Robert Barton) who are mobilizing to address their concerns about 
> the spreading of tons of sludge on our region's farmlands.
>
> I am grateful to be part of a concerned community and to be able to 
> communicate through this list serve. It's a wonderful means by which we can 
> exercise our right to assemble in order to promote sustainability!
>
> - Jan
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Joel and Sarah Gagnon" <Joel.and.Sarah.Gagnon at lightlink.com>
> To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" 
> <sustainabletompkins at lists.mutualaid.org>
> Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 12:46 PM
> Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] why save water?
>
>
>   
>> The city water source issue is more complicated than implied. Six Mile
>> Creek water is often turbid. The chemicals used to clear the water have an
>> associated environmental impact from their production and then disposal.
>> That needs to be weighed against the energy cost of pumping lake water
>> uphill to storage. Either way, conservation reduces environmental impact.
>>
>> Joel
>>     
>
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