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Table of Contents
Volume 12, No. 1, March 1996
Onondaga Lake, New York: Legacy of Pollution
Effler, S.W. and R.D. Hennigan. pp. 1-13
Ionic Inputs to Onondaga Lake: Origins, Character, and Changes
Effler, S.W., M.G. Perkin, K.A. Whitehead and E.A. Romanowicz. pp. 15-23
Density Stratification in Onondaga Lake: 1968-1994
Effler, S.W. and E.M. Owens. pp. 25-33
Paleolimnology of Onondaga Lake: the History of Anthropogenic Impacts on Water Quality
Rowell, H.C. pp. 35-45
Phosphorus Pools, Alkaline Phosphatase Activity, and Phosphorus Limitation in Hypereutrophic Onondaga Lake
Connors, S.D., T. Auer and S.W. Effler. pp. 47-57
Changes in the Zooplankton of Onondaga Lake: Causes and Implications
Siegfried, C., N.A. Auer and S.W. Effler. pp. 59-71
The Aquatic Macrophyte Community of Onondaga Lake: Field Survey and Plant Growth Bioassays of Lake Sediments
Madsen, J.D., J.A. Bloomfield, J.W. Sutherland, L.W. Eichler and C.W. Boylen. pp. 73-79
The Role of Pollution and External Refugia in Structuring the Onondaga Lake Fish Community
Tango, P.J. and N.H. Ringler. pp. 81-90
Summer Methane Fluxes and Fall Oxygen Resources of Onondaga Lake
Addess, J.M. and S.W. Effler. pp. 91-101
Optical Characteristics of Onondaga Lake: 1968-1990
Perkins, M.G. and S.W. Effler. pp. 103-113
An Optics Model for Onondaga Lake
Effler, S.W. and M.G. Perkins. pp. 115-125
Domestic Waste Inputs of Nitrogen and Phosphorus to Onondaga Lake, and Water Quality Implications
Effler, S.W., C.M. Brooks and K.A. Whitehead. pp. 127-140
Development and Testing of a Total Phosphorus Model for Onondaga Lake
Doerr, S.M., R.P. Canale and S.W. Effler. pp. 141-150
Development and Testing of a Nitrogen Model for Onondaga Lake
Canale, R.P., R. Gelda and S.W. Effler. pp. 151-164
Development and Testing of a Dissolved Oxygen Model for a Hypereutrophic Lake
Gelda, R.K. and M.T. Auer. pp. 165-179
Water Quality Model Evaluations for Scenarios of Loading Reductions and Diversion of Domestic Waste Effluent Around Onondaga Lake
Effler, S.W. and S.M. Doerr. pp. 181-193
Modeling the Impacts of a Proposed Hypolimnetic Wastewater Discharge on Stratification and Mixing in Onondaga Lake
Owens, E.M. and S.W. Effler. pp. 195-206
Forecasting Impacts of a Hypolimnetic Wastewater Discharge on Lake Water Quality
Doerr, S.M., S.W. Effler and E.M. Owens. pp. 207-217
Preface
This entire issue of the journal is devoted to research conducted on Onondaga Lake, a medium size lake located in metropolitan Syracuse, New York. The lake has an urban setting; it has been an integral part of the development of the Syracuse area. Onondaga Lake has received large quantities of municipal and industrial waste for more than a century, associated with the development of the surrounding area.
Onondaga Lake is arguably the most polluted lake in the United States, despite mandated reductions in pollutant loading, and loading reductions associated with the closure of a major industrial polluter. Many readers will doubtless be surprised that there is a lake in the United States that remains as profoundly impacted as this lake. Prevailing conditions represent a gross violation of the Clean Water Act. The myriad of environmental problems and the strong signatures of degradation manifested offer an excellent opportunity for research and education, and challenges for lake managers.
The articles that make up this Onondaga Lake issue together represent an interdisciplinary effort, with contributions in the analysis of pollutant loading, lake physics, biology, chemistry, optics, paleolimnology, and mathematical modeling. The impacts of pollution on the lake, and the causes, are clearly delineated. The management implications of each contributing manuscript are considered. The mathematical models, developed and tested in this issue, represent the synthesis of our scientific and engineering understanding of the system, and a quantitative basis to guide management decisions to achieve reclamation. The concluding papers describe the application of the models to evaluate a number of management alternatives presently under consideration for the lake.
The Onondaga Lake research arena has been difficult and contentious. Independent research was not encouraged until the late 1980s (for obvious reasons). Earlier work was mostly conducted pro bono. In response to political and regulatory pressure, funding from a variety of sources (including local, state and federal sources and from enforcement actions) was available to support research of the lake over the 1987 - 1994 period. Much of this work is reported in this issue. There has been an unmistakable, though understandable, resistance to the resolution of cause and effect relationships and the application of water quality models to evaluate management alternatives for the lake. It is a particularly critical period with regard to the future of this polluted lake. Regulators and polluters are negotiating, and a federal judge is expected to make related rulings. The management plan for the lake is expected to emerge soon. A number of the management alternatives are expensive. The contributing authors of this issue are not advocates for a specific management plan. However, we do advocate that management decisions be made within the context of the available technical information, including the material presented in this issue.
The quality of this collection of papers is due not only to the ability of the authors, but also to the fine efforts of those involved in peer review. We direct special thanks to those who participated in the review process. The contributing authors thank Roger W. Bachmann, the editor at the start of this project, who was receptive to the proposal for development of an issue dedicated to Onondaga Lake, and David M. Soballe, associate editor, whose expertise and perseverance greatly enhanced the readability and management focus of the articles.
Steven W. Effler, Ph.D.
Director of Research
Upstate Freshwater Institute
Syracuse, New York 13214
Robert D. Hennigan, P.E.
Executive Secretary
New York Water Environment Federation
90 Presidential Plaza, Suite 122
Syracuse, New York 13202
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