City of Syracuse Joins with Skaneateles Lake Watershed Municipalities to Launch SkanLakeInfo.org Website

People who care about and depend on Skaneateles Lake now have a website, SkanLakeInfo.org, for comprehensive information about the lake and its watershed. The City of Syracuse, which receives its drinking water from Skaneateles Lake, worked with municipalities in the watershed and partner agencies to create the site.

SkanLakeInfo.org has sections on: watershed rules and regulations; boating; agriculture; soil and erosion control; septic systems; wells; landscaping; timber harvesting; frequently asked questions; road salt use; and city watershed programs. It presents regularly updated data on lake elevation, temperatures and dam discharges and has maps of the watershed and protected parcels. The site also provides information on Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) and invasive species, critical environmental issues facing the lake.

The municipalities in the watershed created the SkanLakeInfo.org in response to frequent requests from constituents, businesses, and visitors for information about the lake. The goal is to bring together in a single source the wide range of information frequently sought by people who live or work in the watershed, as well as those who boat on, recreate in or care about Skaneateles Lake and promoting a healthy future for the lake and watershed.

“The City plays a critical role in caring for and protecting the Skaneateles Lake Watershed as part of our responsibility to ensure clean drinking water for people in Syracuse and other communities in the region. The information provided on the website is essential to ensuring public health and caring for the lake,” said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. “Our work is successful because of growing partnerships with municipalities and community organizations which also have a deeply vested interest in the watershed.”

Participating municipalities are the towns of Niles, Scott, Sempronius, Spafford, the Village and Town of Skaneateles, and City of Syracuse.  The City funded creation of the website through the Skaneateles Lake Watershed Education Program and its work with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Onondaga County. 

CCE of Onondaga County will update and maintain the site in coordination with the participating municipalities; Cayuga, Cortland and Onondaga counties; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Cayuga, Cortland and Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation Districts; SLWAP; Central New York Land Trust; Finger Lakes Land Trust; and the Skaneateles Lake Association.