Hudson River Estuary Program Grants for Tributary Restoration and Resiliency

DEC has announced the availability of $630,000 in competitive Hudson River Estuary Grants to help communities in the Hudson River estuary watershed replace or right-size culverts and bridges or remove dams to better cope with flood events, protect water quality, and restore aquatic habitat connectivity for migratory fish and other species of concern in tributary streams of the estuary.  To be eligible for this funding, projects must conserve and restore aquatic habitat connectivity for Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) found in the tributary streams of the Hudson River estuary watershed.

How to Apply:

Visit the Hudson River Estuary Program’s website for more details.  All applications must be submitted in the Grants Gateway by 3:00 PM on November 13, 2015.

WI/PWL Water Quality Assessment Updates

Updates of water quality assessment information for individual WI/PWL waterbodies are announced through MakingWaves. Most recently, WI/PWL Fact Sheets for the following waterbodies have been revised/updated:

• Waters of the Genesee/Beards Creek Watershed,Genesee River Basin.
• Waters of the Lower Genesee Watershed, Genesee River Basin.
• Waters of the Black Creek Watershed, Genesee River Basin.

Comments on these (or other) assessments are welcome via email.

In addition, the WI/PWL webpages are being modified to make it easier to find Fact Sheets for specific waterbodies of interest. These changes have now been completed for the Hackensack-Passaic (Ramapo) River Basin.

List of USGS Streamgages Now Available on DEC’s Website

DEC has made available on its website a list of the currently-operating streamgages on New York waters. The list includes the name of the organization providing the funding for the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) operation of each gage. DEC works with the USGS and a number of other partners to maintain a network of streamgages across the state. The DEC uses streamflow data collected from these streamgages to conduct a number of programs and activities including: operating NYSDEC flood control facilities; maintaining flood forecasting and drought warning capabilities; and supporting water quantity and water quality management programs.

For more information about the USGS streamgages and the importance of these gages to the Division of Water’s water quality and quantity programs, go to DEC’s website.

Blue-Green Algal Bloom Notices

New information about lakes with blue-green algae bloom notices has been posted today, October 2, on the DEC Blue-Green Algal Bloom Notices webpage.

This week, five waterbodies were added to the notification list, and blooms were reported in several locations in the state. This information is provided from about 127 waterbodies sampled in the last two to three weeks by DEC monitoring programs, volunteers and public reports.

Because waterbodies may have blue-green algae blooms that have not been reported to DEC, we recommend avoiding contact with floating rafts, scums and discolored water – If you see it, avoid it and report it!

Report a suspected bloom

If you suspect you have seen a blue-green algae bloom, or you, your family, or pet has been in contact with a blue-green algae bloom, please follow the instructions for reporting a bloom to DEC.