Invasive species and pollution were the topics of discussion at a Owasco Lake Watershed presentation held in the Fingerlakes Mall Sunday.

For those in attendance, such as Sue and Mark Field, who own a house on Owasco Lake, the information could be crucial for preserving and improving the state of the lake.

“People need to be more aware about the small things they do that can affect the lake,” Sue said. “Once you lose a lake it's hard to get it back.”

Owasco Lake Watershed Inspector Jessica Miles said those small things could be anything a resident did to their lawn.

“If lawn clippings get into the water that can cause a problem,” Miles said. “Clippings release a lot of phosphorus. People could use something like a composter instead, which is great for disposing of that kind of stuff. Also there's excess lawn fertilizer people use that can get into the water.”

Other less obvious problems could be something as simple as feeding the ducks.

“Don't feed the ducks or other aquatic birds,” Miles said. “Their feces has a lot of bacteria in it. A few years ago Emerson Park was closed because of a high amount of fecal coliform bacteria that came from the birds feces. While the bread fills them up, it has almost no nutritional value for them.”

Other species-related problems come from zebra mussels which are an invasive species from Russia.

Mussels were introduced into Lake St. Claire in the late 1980s and have worked their way into Owasco Lake, drastically impacting the lake's ecosystem, Miles said.

“One female zebra mussel produces more than one-million eggs a year,” Miles said. “Each zebra mussel can filter one gallon of water a day to filter out and eat the phytoplankton, which causes the water to become clearer over time.”

In the early 1980s, someone could see from 2.6 to 4 meters down into the lake, Miles said. Today a person could see more than 5 meters down.

The increase in visibility meant more sunlight was getting into the water causing an increased growth of seaweed.

“More weeds is an increasing problem for us,” Mark said. “It's a lot of work to clean it all up and it smells bad if it gets left on the shore.”

Miles only recommendation was to scoop the weeds out of the lake or off the shore, dry them out and then dispose of them without burning them.

Other options could be chopping the weeds, even though that could hold some environmental ramifications.

“Chopping weeds can create small fragments which can root, causing the weeds to spread,” Miles said. “But if you are already having a serious weed problem then it's not going to spread much more than it already has, so it's not going to make much of a difference.”

Miles also recommended that people clean seaweed off their boat when they travel between lakes to decrease the risk of transferring invasive species from one body of water into another.

One map Miles displayed, showed how zebra mussels had moved from the east coast to parts of the west coast because people were not aware of what species they were inadvertently carrying with them and how it could impact other ecosystems.

“People need to be educated,” Miles said. “If they live that close to a lake, the things they are doing could be detrimental and kill the lake.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net