Community Science Institute, Inc.

The Cayuga Lake Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) Monitoring Program is led by CSI in collaboration with the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and Discover Cayuga Lake. CSI staff coordinate over 90 “HABs Harrier” volunteers who patrol 69 shoreline zones from late June to early October, collecting suspicious bloom samples and transporting them to the CSI lab for analysis. Suspicious blooms may also be reported by members of the general public using an online form on the CSI website. Samples are analyzed in our state certified lab to identify the dominant cyanobacteria genera in the bloom, microcystin toxin level, and total chlorophyll a concentration. CSI posts reports of blooms on our HABs Reporting Map and table (http://www.communityscience.org/volunteer/harmful-algal-bloom-monitoring/cayuga-lake-habs-reporting-page/). In 2023, we plan to unveil our HABs database which will include a searchable interface for all blooms reported since the start of our program in 2018.

Separately from our chemical and microbiological monitoring of tributary streams, CSI also partners with volunteers who have a passion for collecting and identifying bottom-dwelling stream insects and other invertebrate organisms called benthic macroinvertebrates, or BMI. The abundance and diversity of BMI indicate the quality of a stream as a habitat for aquatic organisms and its general health as an aquatic ecosystem. BMI are used widely by the scientific community, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), as indicators of stream health. CSI’s Biomonitoring Coordinator teams with volunteer groups to collect and analyze samples of BMI from over a dozen stream locations annually. Summaries of BMI results are posted on our website (http://www.communityscience.org/bmi-results/). We are currently developing a new section of CSI’s online database that will house BMI data and make it possible to view and compare BMI results quickly across space and time.

CSI collaborates with Tompkins County 4-H to offer free water-themed experiential learning opportunities for youth and their families called 4-H2O. In 2022, our 4-H2O program, "The Journey of Water", included water quality monitoring cruises aboard Discover Cayuga Lake, collection and inspection of benthic macroinvertebrates from area streams, and tours of the City of Ithaca Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility. Our 2022 4-H2O program has been made possible by a grant from the Park Foundation.