Onondaga Lake

The City of Syracuse lies just to the south of Onondaga Lake.  Water from this lake flows to Lake Ontario via the Seneca and Oswego Rivers.

About the Lake  

The watershed is located mostly in Onondaga County with the northern tip of the watershed extending into Cortland County.  The lake is oriented on a northwest-southeast axis with several large inflowing streams (Ninemile Creek, Onondaga Creek, Ley Creek and Harbor Brook) accounting for ~72% of the inflow.  The Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant (Metro) accounts for ~19% of the inflow and is the third largest inflow to the lake.  The remainder of the inflows come from four smaller streams. The lake has a single outflow into the Seneca River.  From there the water combines with the Oneida River at the Three Rivers Junction forming the Oswego River and flows northward, finally discharging into Lake Ontario at the City of Oswego.

History and Future  

The Haudenosaunee are the native people of Central New York and their history is tightly connected to Onondaga Lake which is considered to be a sacred place. By the late 1700s, settlers began to live and trade in the areas surrounding Onondaga Lake. The salt industry propelled development around the lake with salt production of 100,000 bushels in 1804 reaching peak production of 9 million bushels per year in 1862. The lake was also a popular tourist attraction in the early 1900s with beaches, resorts and amusement parks. Starting in the 1880s and continuing for over 100 years, multiple industries discharged waste, including mercury, salt processing residue, ammonia, organic compounds and PCBs, contributing to the contamination of Onondaga Lake's water and sediment.  Swimming was banned by 1940 and fishing in 1970.  Onondaga Lake was declared a superfund site in 1994.

The cleanup of Onondaga Lake has taken millions of dollars and over 20 years to complete.  Over 2 million cubic yards of polluted sediment were removed from the lake,  contaminated ground water is intercepted and treated before being returned to the lake, the northern end of the lake meets public health criteria for swimming, methylmercury in the deep portions of the lake have decreased by 98%, and the natural recovery of the lake is happening faster than predicted.  More than 260 species of wildlife have been identified in restored areas around the lake along with 130 unique bird species (including eagles). There are popular game fish in the lake along with a diverse number of other species.  The future of Onondaga Lake is filled with optimism as the lake becomes a source of pride for the community and an economic driver for the region. 

Resources and Links  

•  Onondaga Historical Association: Beneath the Surface: The Storied History of Onondaga Lake

• NYSDEC- About Onondaga Lake

• Onondaga Lake Cleanup

• Onondaga Nation and Haudenosaunee Information

• Onondaga Lake Ambient Monitoring Program - 2018 Report