MakingWaves - News from the Division of Water

This Week's Updates:

• We All Live in a Watershed Poster Contest
• Public Comments Being Accepted and Hearing Notice on Proposed Rulemaking to Clarify the Best Usages of Class I and Class SD Saline Surface Waters
• Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor
• Great Lakes Action Agenda Work Group Meetings
• Annual Watershed Conference Focuses on Healthy Landscapes
• Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Notifications

We All Live in a Watershed Poster Contest

DEC and the New York State Water Environment Association (NYWEA) are sponsoring a "We All Live in a Watershed" poster contest open to all middle school students. Fourteen winners will have the honor of having their artwork in a 2021 calendar distributed across New York State. The deadline for submitting posters is January 10, 2020. More information is available on DEC's We All Live in a Watershed Poster Contest webpage.

Public Comments Being Accepted and Hearing Notice on Proposed Rulemaking to Clarify the Best Usages of Class I and Class SD Saline Surface Waters

DEC has announced a proposed rulemaking to amend 701.13 and 701.14 of Title 6 of the Codes, Rules, and Regulations of the State of New York to clarify the best usages of Class I and Class SD marine surface waters were, and remain to be, “secondary contact recreation and fishing” and “fishing,” respectively.

Public comments on the proposed rulemaking will be accepted through January 13, 2020. A public hearing will be held on January 8, 2020. View the October 23, 2019 Environmental Notice Bulletin for instructions on how to comment and for more information about the hearing. The rulemaking documents are available on the Proposed Amendments web page.

Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor

On October 22, thousands of students from New York City to Troy participated in the annual "Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor" event. Students collected scientific information to create snapshots of the river at dozens of locations, then shared their data using web-based technology to better understand how their piece of the river fits into the larger Hudson estuary ecosystem. View DEC's October 22 press release for more information.

Great Lakes Action Agenda Work Group Meetings

DEC's Great Lakes Program invites individuals and organizations to attend an upcoming work group meeting to connect with local partners and learn how to help protect and restore Great Lakes lands and waters. Four meetings will be held throughout the region: 

• Northeast Lake Ontario: November 12 - West Carthage
• Southeast Lake Ontario: November 13 - Newark
• Southwest Lake Ontario: November 14 - Pittsford
• Lake Erie: November 15 - Depew

For more information and how to RSVP, view the attached flyer.

Annual Watershed Conference Focuses on Healthy Landscapes

The Hudson River Watershed Alliance’s annual conference takes place October 29 at the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home, Hyde Park, NY. The conference brings together people working throughout the Hudson River watershed to share experiences, information, and best practices. This year’s conference theme, Healthy Landscapes, will showcase how our values inform our perspectives on what a healthy landscape looks like, and how that impacts our work on rural, suburban, and urban watersheds. The conference agenda will also include updates on statewide initiatives, networking, and case studies from planners and practitioners on improving and protecting our valuable, regional water resources. For more information and to register, visit the Hudson River Watershed Alliance's website. The conference is sponsored by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program in partnership with the New England Water Pollution Control Commission.

Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Notifications

Visit NYHABS, DEC’s harmful algal bloom notification map to view locations of current freshwater HABs in New York State. Each yellow dot on the map represents a HAB reported in the past two weeks. Click on a dot for more information, including the date it was reported, the waterbody name, and pictures. Click on the arrow at the bottom of the screen to view a list of reported HABs.

Know it. Avoid it. Report it.

If you see a HAB, please use the new reporting form to submit a report to NYHABS. Because waterbodies may have HABs that have not been reported to DEC, we recommend avoiding contact with floating mats, scums and discolored water.

If you, your family, or pet have been in contact with a HAB, please rinse with clean water and report any symptoms to your local health department.