18 Facts About Onondaga Lake

Onondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York, immediately northwest of and adjacent to Syracuse, New York.

Onondaga Lake is a dimictic lake, meaning that the lake water completely mixes from top to bottom twice a year.

Onondaga Lake is flushed much more rapidly than most other lakes.

The Onondaga people had control of the lake taken from them by New York state following the American Revolutionary War.

The Onondaga Nation continues to have a religious and cultural presence on the shores of the lake, today.

Related searches

Onondaga Lake was the birthplace of the Haudenosaunee, a confederacy of indigenous nations including the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca.

The abundance of salt brine and limestone in Onondaga Lake's watershed area attributed greatly for the industrialization along the lake's shoreline.

Onondaga Lake was producing about 20 tons of soda ash per day, dumping most of its waste material directly into Onondaga Lake.

Onondaga Lake announced that it would close its operations in Syracuse because of changes in environmental laws, and in 1986 began dismantling its facility.

In 1960, Onondaga County established a sewer district and built the Metropolitan Sewage Treatment Plant on the south shore of the lake.

In 1987, Atlantic States Legal Foundation, a Syracuse-based organization providing legal and technical assistance to citizens and organizations dealing with environmental problems, filed a lawsuit against Onondaga Lake County alleging that Metro and the combined sewer overflow discharges were violating federal water pollution standards established under the Clean Water Act of 1972.

The state of New York joined as a plaintiff with allegations that Onondaga Lake County had violated the New York State Environmental Conservation Law.

In 1988, ASLF, the state of New York, and Onondaga County reached a settlementoutlined in a Consent Judgement which required the county to pay Upstate Freshwater Institute to create water quality models for the lake.

In 1997, New York State, Onondaga County, and ASLF reached an agreement, the Onondaga Lake Amended Consent Judgement, on municipal wastewater collection and treatment improvements.

Since 2007, Onondaga Lake has been in full compliance with the ambient water quality standards for ammonia.

The Onondaga Nation has said that New York State goals do not include making the lake swimmable or fishable, which are criteria included in the Clean Water Act.

Since 1992, the Onondaga Lake Partnership has supported the efforts of the United States Geological Survey in the following remedial activities: the diversion of surface water away from the mudboils, the installation of a dam on the stream that flows from the mudboils area, and the drilling of wells to reduce the pressure around the mudboils .

The Onondaga Lake Nation is seeking the protection and conservation of the natural resources within and affecting the Nation's land, and the security of Onondaga Lake rights to hunt, fish, and gather resources for subsistence and cultural needs.