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By Susan Arbetter City of Albany PUBLISHED 6:20 PM ET Jun. 03, 2021 PUBLISHED 6:20 PM EDT Jun. 03, 2021
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There is no mandatory septic system inspection or any state testing or monitoring for the 6,000 septic systems along the Lake George basin.
While Lake George, known as the “Queen of American Lakes,” is still quite healthy, last fall the community got a taste of the problems that could plague the lake and its tourism economy if action isn’t taken immediately.
“We had our first reported Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) at Lake George last fall,” Eric Siy, executive director of the FUND for Lake George, told
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.