HABs Continue To Be a Concern for County’s Lakes, Residents

By KRISTIAN CONNOLLY
OTSEGO COUNTY

As of August 19, there had been three detected instances of harmful algae blooms on Otsego Lake this year, and all were relatively short-lived. But that doesn’t mean the topic is not at the forefront of what concerned citizens, lake researchers, and scientists are paying attention to and trying to understand each and every day.

The “Otsego Lake Cleanup” event led by the Otsego Lake Association on Sunday, August 11 provided a good venue for such a discussion. Gathered together for refreshments following the cleanup, members of the OLA spoke about HABs, cyanobacteria, plastics, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—more commonly known as PFAS or “forever chemicals”—at the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station boathouse on the western shore of Otsego Lake.

When it comes to “forever chemicals,” which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council say—in perhaps the nicest possible terms—are “widely used,” are “just about everywhere,” and are “nearly indestructible,” the concerns are many, and mostly unknown.

Dr. Kiyoko Yokota is a limnologist and certified lake manager who works for SUNY Oneonta as an associate professor of biology and researcher at the BFS. She also serves as a scientific advisor for both the OLA and the Village of Coopertown’s Watershed Supervisory Committee, “a collaborative effort of Otsego County towns and the Village of Cooperstown dedicated to the lake’s health.”

“Both plastics and forever chemicals including PFAS are substances that lake organisms as well as humans did not evolve with, and their long-term effects are not yet fully understood,” said Dr. Yokota via e-mail, before adding, “The best we can do as citizens is to reduce their use and release to the environment… Reducing our dependency on plastics is the first step.”