Onondaga Lake Milestones

Onondaga Lake Milestones. You have a stake in Onondaga Lake!. , Federal, state, and local governments have been working to clean up the legacy of municipal and industrial pollution to improve Onondaga Lake., 1896 - City builds sewers and bans backyard privies. Sewage flows directly into Onondaga Creek and Harbor Brook, 1970 - Onondaga County establishes annual lake monitoring program, 1972 - The Federal Clean Water Act is passed., 1979 - Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant (Metro), the sewage treatment plant serving Syracuse and surrounding communities that discharges into Onondaga Lake, is upgraded., 1989 - A legal agreement in Federal court requires Onondaga County to study and upgrade Metro and reduce sewage pollution from combined sewer overflows (CSOS)., 1991 - Pump stations at Liverpool and Ley Creek are upgraded to reduce raw sewage overflows into the lake., 1994 - Onondaga Lake is added to the Federal Superfund List, making polluters responsible for cleanup of industrial contamination, 1995 - Projects begin to reduce excessive flow of sediment to Onondaga Creek from the Tully Valley Mudboils, 1998 - A revised legal agreement requires additional water quality monitoring and a reduction of CSOS into Onondaga Lake tributaries., 2001 - Oil tanks are removed from "Oil City” near the Inner Harbor., 2004 - The final stage of Metro improvements for ammonia reduction begin, leading to Onondaga County achieving ammonia reduction goals eight years ahead of schedule., 2005 - More than eight tons of mercury are removed by Honeywell (the successor to the Solvay Process Company and Allied Chemical), cutting off a major source of mercury to the lake from the Linden Chemical and Plastics property (LCP) under a legal agreement., 2006 - Upgrades at Metro result in a 75% reduction of phosphorus released into the lake, from 200 pounds to 50 pounds per day., 2008 - Midland Avenue facility is completed, resulting in the treatment of sewage and stormwater from three CSOS before being released into Onondaga Creek., 2009 - A fourth revision to the legal agreement is approved by the Federal court, allowing Onondaga County to incorporate green infrastructure as a way to reduce CSOS., Honeywell continues construction of a barrier wall to capture and treat polluted groundwater before it reaches the lake., 2010 – Onondaga County launches "Save the Rain” program to improve Onondaga Lake water quality through green infrastructure improvements such as green roofs, rain gardens, porous pavement parking lots, and rain barrels., 2011 - Geddes Brook and Ninemile Creek cleanup begins including wetland and creek habitat enhancements., 2012 - Honeywell begins to remove polluted sediments at the bottom of the lake., Today - Onondaga Lake is the cleanest it has been in over 100 years, and species of fish, plants, and birds are reinhabiting the area. The lake now draws over 1.3 million visitors annually, but there is more to be accomplished. Get involved!, . US Army Corps of Engineers , . US Environmental Protection Agency , . NYS Department of Environmental Conservation , . NYS Attorney General , . Onondaga County , . City of Syracuse, A clean lake reflects well on all of us.