The new position of Owasco Lake watershed inspector has been filled, and it's a good thing, too.

Owasco Lake is quickly becoming a huge bed of weeds that are being fed in part by the phosphorus dumped into the lake from the Groton sewage treatment plant. And the situation is also killing the fish because there's less oxygen in the water.

I have often believed how ironic it is that we drink from the lake, but we can't always swim in it. Does that sound healthy to you?

I applaud any effort to remedy this. Of the seven major Finger Lakes, Owasco used to be first or second, along with Skaneateles Lake, in cleanliness. Now it's dead last.

Skaneateles, on the other hand, had some problems and took the necessary steps to fix it. On Owasco Lake, there were also problems with what was being dumped into the lake from the Moravia sewage treatment plant after the prison was built. But they cleaned up their act, too. A lot of progress has already been made in Groton and it needs to continue to ensure that future generations will enjoy the Finger Lakes.

Back in 2003, Groton was putting 12 pounds of phosphorous per day into Owasco Lake. It went down to seven and then down to its current level of two pounds per day. State Sen. Mike Nozzolio wants the Department of Environmental Conservation to keep it at two pounds per day, but the DEC may allow it to dump up to four.

Certainly if anybody can be depended on to work hard to protect our environment, it should be the DEC. They've got the knowledge and the know-how. We trust that they'll work closely with local leaders to keep things moving in the right direction until Owasco Lake is cleaned up.

That's one of the reasons it was so encouraging when Auburn City Council, after solving some concerns about the hiring process, unanimously decided to hire a watershed inspector for the lake. It's Jessica Miles who has a degree in technology/wildlife management and after a 15-week internship program with the DEC, seems ready to tackle the job.

The $60,000 package includes salary, benefits, travel, vehicle, office and miscellaneous expenses. The city will pay 85 percent while Owasco will pay the remaining 15. The state is also expected to help by picking up some of the cost. The chief concern now is how we've lost Owasco Lake and what we can do to get it back. The new inspector needs to be assertive in order to save our lake.

It is estimated that 46,000 people in Cayuga County�get their drinking water from Owasco Lake. If something isn't done quickly to reverse the damage that has already been done, it could be disastrous.

Ducayne's column appears Tuesdays in The Citizen, and she can be reached at sacredheart6005@hotmail.com