Early algae bloom plagues lake

An unusually early bloom of green algae has begun to appear and accumulate in coves along the southwest shore of Conesus Lake.

No one seems to remember a bloom this large this early in the season, when water temperatures are averaging a relatively cool 64 degrees. Livingston County officials started receiving complaints about the situation last week.

Geneseo Town Supervisor Will Wadsworth made a personal inspection of the area, as have officials of the Livingston County Department of Health.

Wadsworth has called a private meeting of involved entities for this Thursday, Invited are residents immediately impacted by the bloom, the County Health Department, state Department of Environmental Conservation, and Conesus Lake Association officials.

“It’s going to be a strategy session to talk to everybody involved and pull all the notes together,” Wadsworth explained.
“We putting everyone together who might have insight into this. We will try to come up with an action plan to tackle something which really is pretty mysterious.”

Testing the water for E. coli and other bacteria got underway on Tuesday. The tests may point to a nutrient source of the bloom as some shoreline or watershed event.