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Ambient monitoring program

The latest:
 Onondaga Lake: Progress Report 2007, issued June 2008
After more than a century of pollution from municipal and industrial waste, Onondaga Lake is responding to the large investment of funds in wastewater treatment with cleaner water. Pollution levels are down, and the conditions for aquatic life, especially fish, have improved.

2006 Annual Report: Onondaga Lake Ambient Monitoring Program (10 MB, issued Nov 2007)
Appendices (26 MB)
Data sets referenced

Through its Ambient Monitoring Program (AMP), WEP is capturing data that is indispensable to answering critical questions about the chemical, physical, and biological nature of Onondaga Lake and its tributaries (Onondaga Creek, Nine Mile Creek, Harbor Brook, Ley Creek, Tributary 5A) as well as the Seneca River system.

What is the Ambient Monitoring Program about?
Onondaga Lake Ambient Monitoring Program 1998-2012, Program Summary
This document describes the program
and how the results are used to evaluate the effectiveness of Onondaga County's improvements to wastewater collection and treatment (Dec 2006).

WEP's AMP team releases a buoy to collect data about Onondaga Lake.
WEP's AMP team releases a buoy to collect data about Onondaga Lake.

Live data from Onondaga Lake.

WEP personnel are constantly checking the state of the water quality in the lake, the streams flowing into it, and the Seneca River to assess the health of the lake's ecosystem.

Required by state and federal regulations, the AMP also measures the effectiveness of a 15-year WEP plan to improve to the collection and treatment of sewage. Engineers, scientists, and regulators will use the data gathered to see if these efforts are restoring the water's quality and the surrounding habitat. They use the data, too, to see if further improvements are needed to meet water quality standards and community goals for this resource.