As part of Channel 10’s series on the Erie Canal, Genesee RiverWatch weighed in on a topic most people haven’t thought about: The effect of the Erie Canal on the water quality of the Genesee River.

Watch the Channel 10 segment here:

This topic was recently addressed at the Genesee River Basin Summit by Dr. Joseph Makarewicz. For more than a century, the Genesee River and the Erie Canal have exchanged water at a point on the southern edge of the city of Rochester where the two waterways meet. Eastward-flowing canal water is pushed north into the Genesee while northward-flowing river water is pushed east into the canal.

Water quality in the Genesee has been studied thoroughly, and the impacts of erosion, farmland runoff, septic systems, and sewage treatment plant discharges have been well-characterized. But the impact of the water from the Erie Canal on the Genesee’s water quality hasn’t been carefully examined – until now.

Two researchers from SUNY-Brockport, Lindsay Donahoe and Distinguished Professor Emeritus Joseph Makarewicz, have just published a study that quantifies the impacts of the confluence of a man-made canal and a natural flowing river. Joe, a longtime Genesee RiverWatch board member, presented their findings for the first time at Genesee RiverWatch’s 2025 Genesee River Basin Summit.