The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District and Chautauqua County are undertaking a multi-year effort to restore the aquatic ecosystem of Chautauqua Lake.
Chautauqua Lake is a 13,000 acre, glacially-formed lake in Chautauqua County, New York. The lake and its associated wetlands historically supported myriad aquatic communities and a thriving, local and regional socioeconomic system. However, degradation of the aquatic ecosystem threatens the sustainability of Chautauqua Lake via three interrelated pathways: sedimentation, growth of nuisance aquatic vegetation, and harmful algal blooms (HABs).
- Sedimentation: excess sedimentation within the lake degrades the quality and availability of critical habitats (e.g., variability in depth, availability of spawning gravel), impacts navigation and recreation, and increases flood risk.
- Nuisance vegetation: accumulated sediments promote the growth of nuisance and invasive aquatic plant species, such as Eurasian watermilfoil, that have dramatically impacted this ecosystem and degraded recreational opportunities.
- HABs: sediment and nutrient inputs can contribute to increased HAB frequency and nutrients within the lake. There have been over 500 documented HABs since 2012, with 61 HAB notices being issued in 2022 alone. HABs affect human health risk due to recreation exposure and impacted drinking water quality and result in lost economic revenue. Increasingly, intense and frequent large rain events and associated erosion and sedimentation rates further degrade habit quality and availability within the lake.
What is the regional support for this effort?
Restoring Chautauqua Lake is a priority at the local, county, state, and national levels. Continued implementation of the 2010 Chautauqua Lake Watershed Management Plan has reduced sediment and nutrient inputs from the watershed, a critical first step toward restoring this vital ecosystem. Ongoing research has better characterized the processes through which degraded habitat, extreme weather and climate change, and altered hydrologic characteristics interact to cause unfavorable ecological conditions and associated socioeconomic impacts. Recent local, state, and federal funds have been allocated to the Chautauqua Lake Watershed for wastewater infrastructure, ecosystem improvements, and economic development opportunities, demonstrating the importance of the Chautauqua Lake ecosystem and commitment to its restoration.
What is an “Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration”?
Ecosystem Restoration is one of the primary missions of the USACE. The purpose of the AER mission is to restore ecosystem structure, function, and dynamic processes that have been degraded.
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What is the process and expected timeline for this project?
Through the USACE planning process, we will compare alternative plans, evaluate costs and benefits, and recommend a specific course of action to Congress (the Chief’s Report) to support the restoration of the aquatic ecosystem of Chautauqua Lake. Congress may then authorize and fund the identified course of action for construction. This project began in September of 2024, and is expected to take about 3 years.
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America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018:
Authorizing the Secretary of the Army to “…conduct a feasibility study for…ecosystem restoration and flood risk management, Chautauqua [Lake], New York”.
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As this project moves forward, suggestions, comments, or questions are welcome.
Please send us your comments via email at CELRP-Chautauqua-AER@usace.army.mil
You can also provide comments or observations about specific locations at the interactive map below.
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- What have you observed about the lake, and where?
- What aquatic ecosystem resources do you associate with Lake Chautauqua?
- What are the aquatic ecosystem resources that you think we should focus on with this project?
- What are the potential threats to the aquatic ecosystem that you observed?
- What other information about the aquatic ecosystem should we be aware of?
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