Genesee RiverWatch is greatly encouraged by the ongoing and recent work of several groups including the Genesee River Watershed Coalition of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council, Southern Tier West and Central Regional Planning and Development Boards, and the Department of Environmental Conservation to update the Nine Element Plan for the Genesee River Basin. The updated Plan is designed to garner increased engagement from stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of best management practices to reduce phosphorus and sediment impacts in the Genesee, its tributaries, and Lake Ontario. 

Since its formation a decade ago, Genesee RiverWatch has undertaken its own work to address sediment and phosphorus loading but also advocated strongly for a more comprehensive approach like the plan now being developed by DEC.

At our inaugural basin summit in 2014, Genesee RiverWatch articulated four principles to guide our efforts, including helping to prioritize basin needs, attracting additional funding for watershed improvement projects and bringing together stakeholders. 

At the 2019 summit, we shared a detailed plan for reducing sediment and phosphorus loading caused by streambank erosion. 

And at our 2023 summit, we presented a more comprehensive proposal that called for the solicitation of regular and sustained funding from state and federal sources to increase the pace of sediment and phosphorus reduction work in the basin. The proposal stipulated that the funding should go toward the following:

• Streambank Restoration (SBR) – Increase the development and implementation of high priority SBR projects along the main stem and tributaries
• Agricultural Best Management Practices (AgBMPs) – Increase the development and implementation of AgBMPs on eroded farmland throughout the basin
• Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) – Increase outreach and technical assistance to WWTP operators to facilitate implementation of projects geared towards reducing phosphorus and pathogen releases into the river and tributaries 
• Water Quality Monitoring – Develop, fund, and implement a robust and routine water-quality monitoring program allowing for adaptive management
• Dairy Industry Sustainability – Increase outreach and technical assistance to help dairy producers access funding to implement best practices to reduce phosphorus loads

As outlined at our 2024 Summit by Ryan Elliott, the DEC’s Southwest Lake Ontario Watershed Coordinator, the watershed implementation plan now being updated by the agency and other partners would continue to achieve our collective Genesee goals. Specifically, Elliott outlined five sectors that would be implemented by DEC staff, the Genesee River Watershed Coalition of Solid and Water Conservation Districts (GRWCCD), and other partners.

The sectors are agriculture, forested (defined as undeveloped land like forests, grasslands, wetlands, streams, and barren land), wastewater, urban environments, and septic systems. Elliott also discussed adaptive management and associated water quality monitoring as an element of the Plan. This is a huge step forward for the ongoing efforts to protect and improve the Genesee basin. A progress update of the implementation plan will be presented next year.

Genesee RiverWatch will support the efforts of other Genesee River Basin stakeholders in any way we can while continuing our work to define and implement projects that do not duplicate efforts of others and to attract additional funding to the Basin. 

For more information, please contact George Thomas, Genesee RiverWatch at gthomas@geneseeriberwatch.org .

If you are interested in learning more about DEC’s efforts, please contact Ryan Elliott at ryan.elliott@dec.ny.gov .