Steve Orr

@SOrr1

If%20you%20go%2C%20Genesee%20River%20summit%20takes%20place%208%20a.m.%20to%205%20p.m.%20Thursday.

It%20will%20be%20at%20the%20Roger%20Robach%20Community%20Center%2C%20Ontario%20Beach%20Park%20in%20Charlotte.

Members%20of%20the%20public%20with%20an%20interest%20in%20water%20quality%20are%20invited%20to%20take%20part.



There%20is%20no%20need%20for%20advance%20registration%20and%20no%20charge.

An unusually precise research study has, for the first time, determined the sources of pollutants in the Genesee River — and a Rochester-area organization is convening an open workshop Thursday for people who want to do something about it.

The Genesee River Watershed Project, undertaken by environmental scientists from The College at Brockport, used sophisticated computer models to track phosphorus, sediment and other material in the river and its tributaries.

The massive study — 755 pages have been published so far, with one part yet to come — is a road map for change that lays out the relative benefits of reducing farm field runoff in one spot or cleaning up sewage treatment plant discharge in another.

"It allows you an opportunity from a management perspective to say 'We can develop a plan for the future. Here's where we can get more bang for the buck'," said Joseph C. Makarewicz, a distinguished professor of environmental science at the college and the study's lead author.

The Center for Environmental Initiatives intends to lead the effort to develop that action plan. The Brighton nonprofit organization is inviting the public to join Makarewicz and other experts in a day-long workshop Thursday to learn about pollution loading in the Genesee basin and to help decide where remedial efforts should be directed.

"We're hoping to walk away from the event with some work that is identified where we could make a real impact. Let's try to define three projects. That's what we're looking for," said George Thomas, executive director of the group, which is known as CEI.

While the Brockport study focused on the Genesee, Lake Ontario would be a major beneficiary of any cleanup work.

Earlier research by Makarewicz and others showed the near-shore waters of the lake are overloaded with phosphorus, which has fueled a resurgence in the growth of the algae that fouls beaches, blocks water intakes and tangles boat motors.

A prime source of phosphorus in the portion of the lake near Rochester is the Genesee. Reducing phosphorus in the river "undoubtedly will cause an improvement in that portion of the lake," Makarewicz said.

CEI's summit, which runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday in Charlotte, is free and open to the public. Thomas said he hopes to attract participants from the entire 2,474-square-mile river basin, which includes parts of Monroe, Livingston, Genesee and five other New York counties plus a small piece of north-central Pennsylvania.

In addition to Makarewicz, speakers will include Ron Entringer, chief of water quality management at the state Department of Environmental Conservation, who will lay out DEC's understanding of Genesee water quality issues and its plans to deal with them.

The study was based in part on three years' worth of water-quality sampling in the Genesee and several creeks that feed it. It focused mainly on two pollutants — phosphorus, a nutrient blamed for fueling the growth of algae and nuisance aquatic plants, and suspended solids or sediments, which diminish water quality in several ways.

The latter, mostly soil that erodes into the river, is what gives the Genesee its characteristic muddy brown color.

The Genesee deposits 206 tons of phosphorus and 442,000 tons of sediment each year into Lake Ontario, the study estimated.

Where does it come from? About 42 percent of the phosphorus comes from farming, and 12 percent from wastewater treatment plants, the study found. Leaky septic tanks and urban runoff contribute 6 percent. The remaining 40 percent comes from natural sources like eroding soil.

A good deal of the phosphorus enters the river in Allegany and southern Livingston and Wyoming counties, home to steep and easily eroded riverbanks and numerous large dairy farms.

The lion's share of sediment enters the river in that area as well.

The model, which incorporated water-quality sampling results, river flow, weather, land use, soil type and numerous other data, allowed the researchers to examine how well given remedies might work.

For instance, they found that phosphorus in the river would be reduced 7 percent if the large dairy farms in the watershed changed the way they spread manure on fields. Even better, they found the widespread use of grassed waterways, or grass planted in sloped parts of farm fields where stormwater drains, would lead to a 23 percent reduction.

Upgrading the 25 small municipal treatment plants in the Genesee watershed to better remove pollutants would lessen phosphorus another 9 percent.

The biggest gains could be realized at the plants that now add the most phosphorus to the watershed. The study found that the biggest contributions come from plants in Avon in Livingston County; Bergen, Genesee County; Wayland, Steuben County; and Belmont, Allegany County.

The $500,000 study was paid for with federal money obtained by Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, and former Rep. Chris Lee, R-Clarence, Erie County, Makarewicz said.

Asked where he would focus remedial work, Makarewicz mentioned the treatment plants. "They represent identified sources. They're easy to locate. The technology (to improve them) is there.

"Once you get past that, then it gets really tricky," he said. The Genesee south of Letchworth State Park or Canaseraga Creek in Livingston and Steuben counties might be fertile ground, but progress would require cooperation from a large number of farmers and other parties.

Federal and state grants are available for remedial work, and having a plan for remedial work in the river basin can help attract them.

That's where CEI comes in. After the brainstorming session Thursday, the group will write up a summary and an attack plan and go looking for partners to help bring the chosen projects to fruition.

"It's a long-term kind of thing. You have to build some consensus on what you can do," Thomas said. "The Genesee River is one of the biggest watersheds discharging into a Great Lake that hasn't had much coordinated activity. We want to attract more funding here — get our fair share of it and get things done."

SORR@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/SOrr1

If you go

The Genesee River Basin Summit, convened by the Center for Environmental Initiatives, will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday. It will be at the Roger Robach Community Center at Ontario Beach Park in Charlotte.

Members of the public with an interest in water quality are invited to take part. There is no need for advance registration and no charge. Lunch will be provided.

The summit is supported by the Rochester Area Community Foundation and North American Breweries.