Editorial: Lake Septic
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A fisherman casts his line as he fishes in a light rain from a pier on Friday, March 26, 2021 in Lake George, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)Lori Van Buren, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / Albany Times Union
THE ISSUE:
Algal blooms in Lake George are linked to leaking septic systems, which are not inspected by any state agency.
THE STAKES:
New York must start regular inspections designed to keep sewage out of a lake that is one of the state’s natural jewels.
Tests by the Lake George Association have found measurable levels of caffeine and Splenda in the lake.
Old septic systems a threat to lake
John Strough
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Photo illustration by Jeff Boyer / Times Union
Ever since Lake George experienced its first harmful algal bloom last fall, I can’t stop asking myself, “Was that the canary in the coal mine?” What if this relatively brief occurrence of pea-soup-green bacteria is the precursor to larger and more persistent blooms?
What if the bloom had been toxic? Lake George is a drinking water source.
How will future blooms impact our ecology, economy, tax revenues and property values?
We can’t afford to wait and see.
The time is now for New York to take a more aggressive approach in addressing one of the biggest culprits in the creation of harmful algal blooms aging and failing septic systems.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Police truck. NCPR file photo by Emily Russell
QUEENSBURY The town of Queensbury’s closed landfill appears to be leaking toxins into nearby residents’ wells, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation is considering declaring it a Superfund site.
DEC tested the closed landfill last year, in January 2020. At the time, it was part of routine testing, DEC said in an email describing the situation.
DEC sampled five existing monitoring wells at the landfill and found PFAS and 1,4-dioxane at concentrations high enough to justify testing the nearby residential wells in the area of Azure Drive and Mud Pond Road, near Ridge/Jenkinsville Park.
Historians say they won t skirt slavery as they plan museum for Warren County namesake
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This home on Gurney Lane in Queensbury is the proposed site of a history museum honoring Joseph Warren, for which Warren County is named.Warren County Board of SupervisorsShow MoreShow Less
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Joseph Warren will be memorialized in a new museum in Queensbury.Courtesy of Warren County Historical SocietyShow MoreShow Less
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QUEENSBURY The Warren County Historical Society would like to open a visitor s center and museum dedicated to Joseph Warren, the county s namesake and one of the men killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Historians said his ownership of enslaved people would be part of the eventual installation.