Letter from the Otsego Lake Watershed Supervisory Committee to Otsego Lake Watershed Residents

Consider Routine Testing of Potable Water

Editor’s Note: With warmer months just around the corner, we felt this was a good time to share the following information from the Otsego Lake Watershed Supervisory Committee, circulated to Otsego Lake watershed residents in October 2024. Although this letter from the OLWSC refers in large part specifically to Otsego Lake, there is good information here for residents of all watersheds.

The Otsego Lake Watershed Supervisory Committee is continuing its work to inform the public on safe practices for the watershed.  Recently we came upon some information we felt important to share with you.

First some background. The New York State Department of Health has a long-standing statewide advisory against using surface water for drinking unless treated by a municipal water system. In technical terms, surface water refers to [any] lake, pond, stream, and river where the water table is exposed to the surface of the earth, i.e. any water in the lake (https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/SurfaceWater). The entire volume of lake water is considered surface water regardless of depth. Unlike groundwater, the open nature of surface water makes it more prone to a wide variety of biological and chemical contamination. Water treatment against living microorganisms such as Giardia and E. coli is relatively easy and can be achieved by filtration, boiling, UV radiation, etc.; however, ensuring the efficacy of household-sized water treatment systems in removing alltypes of potential chemicals is very difficult for typical homeowners.