[SustainableTompkins] Lake water versus creek water

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

We could also look at maximizing the water power potential of the creek and 
dams on it, either instead of using them as part of water harvesting, or in 
conjunction with it. I'm guessing that the drop must have been pretty steep 
or the dams would not have been put up in the first place -- although given 
their purpose of storage for a water system that assumption may not be correct.

Joel

At 05:03 AM 3/5/08 -0800, you wrote:
>One of the questions that I have never heard or read about in the City's 
>decisionmaking process on Six Mile Creek versus Bolton Point is what could 
>happen to Six Mile Creek and Six Mile Creek Gorge without the dams, the 
>lakes and water treatment system tapping the creek.
>
>   What did the gorge look like a century ago, before the 30-foot dam was 
> complted about 1900?  What was Six Mile Creek like when it flowed 
> unfettered throught the gorge?  What did the broader valley areas drowned 
> by the two reservoirs look like?
>
>   What could they look like permanently drained and revegetated?  Would 
> they be wide and flat (or could be regraded so) so that the creek would 
> meander amongst wetlands that could serve as both critical riparian 
> wildlife habitat and sediment traps on the way to the lake?
>
>   Could they be effective enough to dramatically reduce the turbidity of 
> Cayuge Lake at Stewart Park and open the beach there to swimming 
> again?  How much phosphorus and nitrogen could they lock up and prevent 
> from reaching the lake?
>
>   What species of fish made extinct in the upper reaches of Six Mile 
> Creek by the dams be able to make a comeback?
>
>   What sort of incredible public preserve could result once the areas can 
> legally be opened up to public use, and an investment in accessible, 
> erosion resistant footpaths can be made by the community?  Could the very 
> popular South Hill Recreation Way be looped around to the north side at 
> Burns Road and back to Giles Street?
>
>   Rather than spending tens of thousands of dollars per year on water 
> infrastructure could the City focus its resources on programs to better 
> control of non-native invasive plant species in the Mulholland Wildflower 
> Preserve?
>
>   Could the 60-foot and 30-foot dams remain in place and be modified to 
> serve as a flood control devices, permitting the normal flows of Six Mile 
> Creek to pass but backing up temporarily floodwaters in a manner that 
> would protect the downtown area, trap sediment, and naturally replenish 
> the soils in the wetlands/meadow areas upstream?serve as sediment traps?
>
>   Could a solar array be built on the grass slope between Commonland and 
> the 30-foot reservoir that would produce the additional electricity 
> needed to pump water from Cayuga Lake?  Could a few 10KWh wind turbines 
> placed in the meadows on the south side of the gorge do the same?
>
>   How many units of decent, affordable, LEED certifiable housing could be 
> built on the site of the water treatment plant, close to downtown and 
> taking advantage of existing water, sewer and public transit infrastructure?
>
>   We could do more than just abandon Six Mile Creek.  We could make this 
> decision an opportunity to restore the creek and gorge and create a more 
> sustainable Ithaca.
>
>   George Frantz
>
>
>
>   W
>Joel and Sarah Gagnon <Joel.and.Sarah.Gagnon at lightlink.com> wrote:
>   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
>
>At 07:15 PM 2/27/08 -0500, you wrote:
> >Margaret McCasland wrote:
> > > But we are very lucky here in the city of Ithaca; most of the city's
> > > water is surface water on its way to the lake via gravity, all it
> > > does is take a detour through our houses. (However it is getting
> > > contaminated on the way.) So water per se isn't the issue.
> >
> >It will be if the proponents of growth in the county are
> >successful in the effort to shut down the City's water treatment
> >plant and expand Bolton Point so that all the City's water comes
> >from the lake. There are energy aspects to this, too; see the
> >position paper prepared by TCLocal last year:
> >
> > http://www.ibiblio.org/tcrp/policy/wtp/
> >
> > > But effects on the lake do matter. All those chemicals add up
> > > once they get to the lake, where they concentrate over time.
> >
> >Yup. But it's not clear that Common Council understands this.
> >
> >Jon
> >
> >
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