The city of Syracuse is hoping the state can come through with $12 million to help ensure the cleanliness of drinking water from Skaneateles Lake.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said the money would fund the extension of a water intake pipe deeper and further into Skaneateles Lake. There are a few reasons Walsh said this is necessary.
"One, by getting it further out into the lake and deeper into the lake, it minimizes the potential threat of any harmful algae bloom that may arise, as we’ve seen in the last couple of years," said Walsh. "And it also minimizes the impact of turbidity, which is what happens when winds are high and the bottom of the lake starts to get churned up and that can have an impact on the quality of drinking water."
Walsh said the city is also looking for federal help on the issue, noting that infrastructure spending now prevents more expensive fixes in the future.
Walsh told lawmakers at an Albany hearing last that because the city doesn’t filter the drinking water from the lake, a water quality violation could force it to build an expensive water treatment plant. Skaneateles Lake provides drinking water for the city of Syracuse as well as some suburbs.
