CONNECT
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R E T I NK
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REVIVE
The Onondaga Lake Watershed
from the Mid-1700s to the Present
There have been many changes to the Onondaga Lake watershed over the past few centuries.
Historically, there were many salt water springs
around Onondaga Lake. In the late 1700s, EuroAmerican settlers began using the springs to
make salt. Salt was very valuable, especially for
preserving food. Many people came to the area
during the following century in order to seek their
fortunes by making salt. The salt industry needed
a lot of wood for fuel and for building barrels
to hold and ship the salt. Local forests were cut
down to supply the salt industry and to make
room for farms and towns. By the early 1800s,
local supplies of wood were running low. People
had to start bringing in wood from other places.
As the local forests disappeared, the salt marshes
expanded.
In the early 1800s, the Erie Canal was built. It
brought more people to the area around Onondaga
Lake. By dredging the lake’s outlet, settlers lowered
the lake’s water level and drained the swamps in the
northern part of the city of Syracuse. Throughout
the 1800s hotels, amusement parks, and other tourist
attractions were built on the lakeshore. Many visitors
came to enjoy swimming, boating, and fishing in the
summers. More and more of the lakeside habitats
were destroyed, and plant and animal life suffered.
Salt production near Onondaga Lake,
Photo taken around 1892
Photo by Edwin C. Dinturff, Courtesy of the Crawford
Collection, Liverpool Public Library, Liverpool, New York
Market Day on West Genesee Street,
Syracuse (1899)
Courtesy of the Onondaga County Public Library
Local History and Genealogy Department
White City Amusement Resort
near Onondaga Lake, early 1900s
Courtesy of the Solvay-Geddes Historical Society
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Industrial pollution
In the 1880s, the Solvay Process Company started
to make soda ash on the western shore of Onondaga lake. For the next 100 years, there was severe
industrial pollution in and around the lake. By the
early 1900s, the Solvay Process Company had
buried the salt marshes under industrial waste. A
combination of industrial pollution, over-fishing,
and habitat destruction greatly harmed the lake’s fish.
Soda ash – a chemical that is
an important ingredient for
making glass, soaps, and
other industrial products
Solvay Process Company near Onondaga Lake, 1890
Courtesy of the Solvay-Geddes Historical Society
The Solvay Process Company joined with other companies during the
20th century. Eventually it became part of a company called Honeywell
International Inc. These companies left behind very large amounts of
non-toxic and toxic wastes at different places in and around the lake. The
lake was badly damaged by this pollution, and by toxic wastes from other
companies around the lake.
Industrial pollution changed the lake in many ways. Dumping
large amounts of industrial waste into the lake decreased the
lake’s volume. Some of the wastes made the lake’s water saltier.
As a result, the water could not hold as much oxygen, and fewer
species could survive there.
Other industrial wastes, like mercury, built
up in the bodies of fish. Eating contaminated fish can harm your health. Today, it
is not safe for children or young women to
eat any fish from Onondaga Lake. There
are strict limits on the amount and type of
fish that men can eat from the lake.
The polluted sediments in the lake bottom
are also dangerous to human health. Coming into contact with the polluted sediments
can increase your risk of developing cancer
and other health problems. The pollution
is also poisonous to animals that live on
the bottom of the lake. The health of those
animals affects the rest of the lake because
they are important links in the food web.
Above: Pollution left
by Solvay Process
Company around
Lakeview Point on
the west shore of
Onondaga Lake, 1938.
The salty, whitecolored pollution is
called Solvay Waste.
This aerial photo
shows the waste
washing into the lake.
Above: Close-up view of Solvay waste.
This photo was taken in the early 2000s
near Lakeview Point. Like the photo
from 1938, it shows the old waste
continuing to wash into the lake.
Courtesy of Cornell University
Library, New York State Aerial
Photographs Collection
Photo: OEI
Left: Aerial photo taken in 1951 of industrial pollution on the
southwest corner of lakeshore, leaking into the water
Courtesy of Cornell University Library, New York State Aerial Photographs Collection
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Municipal Sewage Pollution
Another source of pollution in Onondaga Lake has been human sewage from the city of Syracuse and other
parts of Onondaga County. For many years, untreated human sewage
was dumped directly into the lake or reached the lake when sewers
overflowed. There was also a long period of time when sewage was
treated, but not well enough to protect the lake. The sewage pollution
changed the chemistry of the lake water. For example, it added a lot
of nitrogen to the lake. Some forms of nitrogen harm fish and other
aquatic organisms. Sewage pollution also increased the amount of
phosphorous in the lake.
The nitrogen and phosphoSewage treatment – the process of
rous harmed the lake by
removing pollution from the
causing too much algae to
wastewater
that leaves our homes
Main sewer line entering
grow. Large amounts of alOnondaga Lake, 1901
gae make water cloudy and
Courtesy of the Solvay Public Library
harm other aquatic organisms.
Over the past century, the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County
have worked to reduce sewage pollution. Today, there is much less
nitrogen and phosphorous in the lake because of the treatment carried out at the county Metropolitan Sewage Treatment Plant (Metro)
and because many sewer overflows have been prevented. As a result,
we can see that some of the damage to the lake is starting to heal.
Tully Valley Mudboils
Metro Plant
Photo: (c) Onondaga County
Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake
have been damaged by mudboils that are located in the southern part of
the watershed. Mudboils are muddy springs that come up through vents
in the ground. They dump large amounts of sediment into Onondaga
Creek, which carries the sediment into Onondaga Lake. The mudboils
may have been caused by a century of salt mining (1890-1986) in the
Tully Valley. They became a major problem by the 1970s.
Mudboils flowing into
Onondaga Creek, 2010
Photo: OEI
The sediment from the mudboils harms the organisms that live in Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake. In the past, people were able to prevent much of the sediment from getting
into the water. However, the problem
became worse in 2010 and there is no
solution yet.
Non-Point Source Pollution
Non-point source pollution comes from many diverse sources. An example of
non-point source pollution is trash that is left on the ground around the city of
Syracuse. The rain washes this trash into the creeks and the lake.
Right: Trash on the shores of Onondaga Lake
Photo by Lindsay Speer
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