Cayuga County Water Quality Management Agency

10/22/2026

The New York State NYS Department of Environmental Conservation suggests leaving your leaves this fall to improve habitat. They suggest visiting https://xerces.org/leave-the-leaves to learn more about why you should leave the leaves and how to improve habitat for insects and other invertebrates in your backyard or community.

10/16/2026

As we enter the second week of October, the typical harmful algal bloom season on Owasco Lake is expected to continue for several more weeks. Although HABs are most commonly ⤵️ Find a link to the story in the comments.

10/15/2026

10/13/2026

Our first Cayuga County StormwaterSmart workshop was a great success. We would like to thank everyone who joined us to learn about food waste, carbon footprints, and composting! Your presence, curiosity, and great conversations made the day incredibly inspiring. It’s amazing to see so many people committed to learning how small changes can make a big impact on our environment. Thank you to Generate Upcycle, Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cayuga County Planning Department. Portions of this Project were funded by a grant from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Environmental Protection Fund, to the Finger Lakes - Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance.

10/08/2026

It's the event announcement you all have been waiting for! Join us for our 2nd Annual Spotted Lanternfly Egg Mass Scraping Workshop on November 7th at the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges! 🔴🏮🪰⚫️

This workshop will introduce you to the different life stages of SLF and give you the opportunity to help the Finger Lakes PRISM with hands-on management of the known SLF population right out our back door. We'll also talk about actions you can take as a citizen in limiting the spread of spotted lanternfly and best reporting techniques.

Register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/jSfp66T8WV or by scanning the QR code on the flyer. We hope to see you there!

10/02/2026

Catch up with CSI and see what we've been up to during the month of September! As we head into fall, there’s plenty happening across the Finger Lakes watershed—and we’re wrapping up another busy summer at CSI! In this month’s update, we’re sharing the latest Cayuga Lake Harmful Algal Bloom reports, what to do if you spot foam on any of the Finger Lakes, and updates from our synoptic stream and lake monitoring and biomonitoring programs. We’ll also look back on another successful season of Journey of Water, and share other upcoming events and ways to connect with your local water science community.

Click here to read more: https://mailchi.mp/813b8c8213c8/september2026

Active HAB conditions swirled around the southern side of Salt Point on 9/12/26. Photo taken via drone by CSI volunteer Sue Ruoff.

10/01/2026

Three seats left! Register now.

The Cayuga County Department of Planning and Economic Development is excited to announce our first Cayuga County StormWater Smart Workshop!
Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Island Shelter on Deauville Island, Emerson Park
Participants will learn practical ways to reduce food waste at home, understand carbon footprints, and get started with composting. Registered participants will receive a free compost bin (Cayuga County residents only, one per household) along with other great giveaways.
Register here:
https://www.cayugacounty.gov/Activities/Activity/Detail/Cayuga-County-StormwaterSmart-Workshops-701
A flyer is available here: https://www.cayugacounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/34562/Cayuga-County-StormWater-Smart-Workshop

09/28/2026

09/28/2026

Cayuga Climate Action is hosting a Styrofoam Collection Event on Oct 3rd, including a drop-off location in our watershed - Poplar Ridge! See flyer for details.

Travis Kitsch is also hosting a drop-off site in Lansing (collecting locally through Oct 2nd). Reach out to Travis directly to arrange! [email protected]

09/09/2026

The Cayuga County Department of Planning and Economic Development is excited to announce our first Cayuga County StormWater Smart Workshop!
Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Island Shelter on Deauville Island, Emerson Park
Participants will learn practical ways to reduce food waste at home, understand carbon footprints, and get started with composting. Registered participants will receive a free compost bin (Cayuga County residents only, one per household) along with other great giveaways.
Register here:
https://www.cayugacounty.gov/Activities/Activity/Detail/Cayuga-County-StormwaterSmart-Workshops-701
A flyer is available here: https://www.cayugacounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/34562/Cayuga-County-StormWater-Smart-Workshop