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Sandy Pond, New York

Sandy Pond Oswego County, New York

Joseph C. Makarewicz and Matthew J. Nowak The College at Brockport, State University of New York

January 2010 Located on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, Sandy Pond is separated by a barrier beach and sand dune from Lake Ontario. The Sandy Pond complex consists of two ponds: North Sandy Pond (about 2 mi wide and 4 mi long) and the smaller South Sandy Pond. Within the direct drainage area of Sandy Pond is a 76-acre New York State conservation area. It lies at the north end of a

spit of land dividing North Sandy Pond from Lake Ontario and is about 2 miles north of Sandy Island Beach State Park. On the northern-most tip of this area, there is a bird sanctuary that hosts large numbers of shorebirds during migration; the Natural Area is part of the Eastern Lake Ontario Marshes Bird Conservation Area that also includes Deer Creek Marsh, Lakeview, and Black Pond Wildlife Management Areas. Sandy Pond supports significant tourism and recreation and provides important habitat for nesting birds and waterfowl. Agricultural runoff, septic system failures, and “gray water”

discharge have lead to the cultural eutrophication of the pond. Within North Sandy Pond, nuisance algae and macrophytes impact boating and swimming. This short report provides a synopsis of data collected monthly from May through September (2005 to 2009) on the water quality of North Sandy Pond and the lakeside (swimmable depth) of Lake Ontario near the pond. Phosphorus is of concern as it stimulates the growth of plants, causing blooms of algae such as Cladophora. The average Sandy Pond total phosphorus (TP) levels (38.3+11.1 µg P/L) exceeded the NYSDEC ambient guideline of 20 µg P/L, as did lakeside concentrations (27.8+4.1 µg P/L). Pond soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) levels (3.1+0.6 µg P/L) were similar to those at the lakeside site (3.0+0.7 µg P/L). In comparison to concentrations in other Lake Ontario embayments (129.7+59.6 µg P/L), average TP concentrations in Sandy Pond (38.3+11.1 µg P/L) were significantly lower. Sandy Pond and lakeside water TP concentrations were higher than in the open (9.5+ 0.7µg P/L) offshore waters of Lake Ontario. At both sites, levels of algae (indicated by chlorophyll a, Fig. 1c), phycocyanin (Fig. 1d), an indicator of the nuisance species of blue-green algae, TP (Fig. 1a), SRP (Fig. 1b), suspended solids (TSS, Fig. 1e), and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN, Fig. 1g) had no obvious upward or downward annual trends over the study period. Nitrate (Fig. 1f) was consistently higher at the lakeside site compared to Sandy Pond. Seasonally, lakeside SRP (Fig. 2b), TSS (Fig. 2e), and TKN (Fig. 2g) concentrations were high in May, decreased into the summer, and later increased in the late summer. Nitrate (Fig. 2f)

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decreased from May through September. Phycocyanin reached its highest levels in the late summer in Sandy Pond (Fig. 3d) when nitrate reached its lowest concentrations (Fig. 3f).

References:

Bielen, M. et al. Providing public access in coastal areas: Options for landowners. Great Lakes Sea Grant Network. http://www.nysgextension.org/tourism/tourism/publicaccessfs.html.

Gifford, A. (2000-09-21). Answer is blowin' in the wind: Group's planting effort restores dunes at Sandy Pond. The Syracuse Post Standard: p. B-1.

Makarewicz, J.C. 2000. New York’s North Coast: A Troubled Coastline. Lake Ontario Embayment Initiative. SUNY Brockport. Available from The Center for Environmental Information, Rochester, NY.

Makarewicz, J.C., T.W. Lewis, and D. White. 2002. Loss of nutrients and soil from Sandy Pond tributaries, Oswego County, N.Y. Technical report to the Oswego County Soil and Water Conservation District. Fulton, NY.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Central New York Region 7. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7792.html. Retrieved 2008-10-18.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Eastern Lake Ontario Marshes Bird Conservation Area. http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/27256.html. Retrieved 2008-10-18.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 2001. Region 7 Draft Recreation Master Plan for State Forests. http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/reg7rec.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-30.

Sandy Pond Image. Available at: http://spcma.homestead.com/

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Table 1. Average concentrations (2003 to 2009, May through September) and standard errors (S.E.) of total phosphorus (TP), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), nitrate, chlorophyll a (Chl a), phycocyanin, total suspended solids (TSS), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), sodium, and silica.

TP (µg P/L)

SRP (µg P/L)

Nitrate (mg/L)

Chlorophyll (µg/L)

Phycocyanin (µg/L)

TSS (mg/L)

TKN (µg/L)

Sodium (mg/L)

Silica (mg/L)

Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Mean S.E. Lakeside 62.0 7.4 7.0 0.9 0.27 0.01 19.1 4.1 17.8 2.2 33.5 4.8 795 96 13.78 0.19 0.56 0.06 Rivers 83.8 7.0 44.8 5.4 0.57 0.03 6.5 0.8 13.2 3.0 10.5 1.9 559 25 26.65 1.28 1.42 0.15 Embayments 129.7 59.6 15.5 2.0 0.14 0.01 20.0 2.4 237.5 207.6 17.0 5.70 923 70 27.47 1.49 1.29 0.11 Lake Ontario 30m

9.9 0.7 3.1 0.5 0.31 0.02 2.0 0.17 5.5 1.2 0.7 0.14 253.3 21.0 11.46 0.23 0.35 0.05

Lake Ontario 100m

9.5 0.7 5.2 2.1 0.31 0.01 2.6 0.26 6.1 1.3 0.8 0.12 343.4 50.9 11.45 0.24 0.40 0.07

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Map of the “North Coast” of New York showing sampling locations for the Lake Ontario Coastal Initiative. The Sandy Pond watershed is shown in the insert.

Lake Ontario

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Figure 1. Average (+S.E) summer total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, total suspended solids, nitrate, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen concentrations at the lakeside of Lake Ontario near Sandy Pond and at sandy Pond. Surface water samples were taken monthly (May-September) at a 1-meter depth.

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Figure 2. Average (+S.E) seasonal concentrations of total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, total suspended solids, nitrate, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen at the lakeside of Lake Ontario near Sandy Pond.

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Figure 3. Average (+S.E) seasonal concentrations of total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, total suspended solids, nitrate, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen in Sandy Pond.