Despite a weather report threatening rain, thunder and lightning, the Skaneateles Lake Association Annual Meeting and Open House began just as the World Cup ended and the weather broke. The meeting/open house was a success and the weather improved.
One hundred-twenty members of the Skaneateles Lake Association gathered at the home of Anne and Charles McElroy to enjoy the incredible view from their home, share lake stories, and obtain updates on the status of Milfoil in the lake from Dr. Bob Werner, the progress of the Milfoil Boat Crew from John Menapace and on the Lake Steward Program from Dr. Buzz Roberts.
Dr. Charles Driscoll of Syracuse University gave a brief summary of the progress on the clean-up of Onondaga Lake, the results of the ongoing monitoring program for Skaneateles Lake and the issue of Skaneateles Lake foam. While there have been many opinions voiced about the foam, from “so what ….we have always had foam”, to “ok.. so it happens but why so much this year” to “there has got to be something causing this”, Dr. Driscoll’s presentation and a report from Dr. Bob Werner on the chemical analysis of foam that was done for the SLA, all point to a natural occurrence. Dr. Driscoll told the audience how much synthetic detergent it would take to make foam in Skaneateles Lake – 14,000 tons! – reassuring those assembled that detergent runoff was not the causative factor in the foam we have been seeing. Dr. Driscoll and Dr. Werner indicated that there are no clear answers as to why we have seen so much foam in the past year. Dr. Werner shared with the attendees that the SLA has formed a working group to study the formation of foam in Skaneateles Lake including Drs Werner, Kim Schulz, John Hassett, and Greg Boyer of SUNY ESF and Dr. Driscoll. This working group will study the composition of the foam on Skaneateles Lake and try to evaluate how it forms and whether it is likely to be harmful to the lake.
Those who attended were asked to submit their favorite photos of Lake Vistas or Lake Life and the plan had been to have those attending vote for their favorite. In the end it was determined all were special and demonstrated that our beautiful lake is the prize. We all win by living in the Skaneateles Lake Community.
With all the information shared, great views, great food and a bit of wine to toast our beautiful lake, every person who attended had a great time.
Note: The Annual Meeting was underwritten by a special donation from two members of the SLA.
You can join the Skaneateles Lake Association by going to SkaneatelesLake.org to complete your registration and pay your annual dues. If you do not have access to the Internet and would like a registration form mailed to you please call 315-685-9106 and leave a message with your name and mailing address.
Please thank the following individuals for their sponsorship of the Milfoil Boat: July 14th The Kaufman Foundation; July 15th Mary & Paul Torrisi, Maureen & Thomas Walsh; Ursula & David Hutton; Emily & James Johnson; July 16th Mary Ellen & Joe Hennigan; Julie & Joe Scuderi; July 17th Anna Marie & Carl Gerst; Judy & John Varney; Members of the Shadowlawn Lakeshore Corporation; Lorraine Rapp & Jeffrey Kirshner; July 18th Johanna & Gianfranco Frittelli
Also please thank the following individuals for their sponsorship of a Lake Steward for a day: June 8th Judd Seales; June 9th Eileen Murphy & Charles Ryan; June 10th Pam & John Pidhirny.
Source: Skaneateles Journal