AUBURN - “The Beauty and the Beast - A Tale of Two Lakes,” a short documentary film produced by Pete Cramer, said more in 25 minutes than many have understood in a lifetime of inhabiting the Finger Lakes.

Shown to a packed house in the Auburn Public Theater Cinema, the visual impact of a polluted Onondaga Lake contrasted with nearly pristine Skaneateles Lake, made its point - the lakes need to be protected.

“We're thrilled that you came,” Bob Brower, chief executive officer of the Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology, a sponsor of the film, said. “Thanks for coming. The cinema holds 70 people and you filled it up.”

Brower went on to explain IAGT's role in contributing to the documentary and his hope that the fusion of “art, science and technology would all fit together as a wonderful juxtaposition that makes for an improved quality of life.”

“There could be lessons here that apply to Owasco Lake,” he said.

Carey Eidel, co-founder and owner of the Auburn Public Theater, asked how many in the audience had come to the Cinema for the first time - about 75 percent raised their hands. He used the moment to explain his vision of the movie theater as a center of communication and dialogue.

“If you decide it's a worthwhile venue, come and make it a part of your lives,” he said. “Come to enjoy, be stimulated and educated.”

David Carr, a project manager of IAGT, briefly explained some of the goals of Owasco Lake Watershed Association, which he explained in greater detail after the movie.

The documentary opened with an overview of the Finger Lakes area and moved down to the site of Onondaga Lake, as the director first focused on the “Beast.”

“When I started down there,” the narrator, Bill Whyland, an employee of Allied Chemical, said, “I didn't even know how to spell environment.”

He ended up testing Onondaga Lake's waters for levels of pollution and reporting back to his company.

Shocking images of a dead rat floating along the lakefront and a sign reading, “Eat No Fish” sharply contrasted with historical photos taken of Onondaga Lake in its heyday, with resorts, hotels, and bathing beaches, where people ate whitefish from the lake as a delicacy.

“The Great Water Steal,” a subtitle from the movie, explained how the city of Syracuse decided to pipe in drinking water from Skaneateles Lake in 1888 and completed a 19-mile, 30-inch conduit from Skaneateles to the city. The water in Onondaga Lake was lower in elevation, too costly for the city to pump it up. Instead, the city tapped Skaneateles Lake's supply, which was 650 feet above sea level.

That event marked a shift in the attitude toward Onondaga Lake as not suitable for drinking water and it became a dumping ground for industrial waste, mainly from Solvay Process, which began to manufacture soda ash from the salt marshes surrounding the lake.

Sobering statistics of staggering amounts of chemicals, from soda ash, sewage, and mercury between 1884 and 1970 rendered the lake unsuitable for fishing or swimming. Twenty-two pounds of mercury per day were being dumped until the state attorney general ordered it stopped. By that time, 165,000 pounds of mercury had ruined 7 million cubic yards of sediment on the lake bottom.

“It was a massive toilet bowl for the city of Syracuse,” the narrator continued.

Meanwhile, Skaneateles, the Flower Garden of the Finger Lakes, continued to pipe 42 million gallons of water per day to Syracuse.

The goal of the sponsors was to get people actively involved in protecting these lakes, particularly Owasco Lake, which still suffers from high levels of potassium and is actively under the watchful eyes of the Owasco Lake Watershed Association.

OWLA is setting up a portal to network information to the public from a multitude of available sites. It plans to put together another documentary on Owasco Lake in the future. The audience was highly enthusiastic about the film and asked many questions about how they could get involved.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net