People Protecting the Lake
Since 1885.
Lake George
Association – P.O. Box 408 – Lake George, NY 12845
(518) 668-3558 – Fax
(518) 668-4702 – www.lakegeorgeassociation.org
January 12, 2007
For
Immediate Release
Contact: James Hood
Communications Coordinator
Lake George Association
Phone: (518) 668-3558
WEST BROOK WATERSHED project RECEIVES $92,000 GRANT AWARD
Lake George, NY – The Lake George Association, the nation’s first lake association and a pioneer in the conservation movement, announced that the New York State Department of State has awarded a $92,000 grant to be used to undertake engineering design work as part of the West Brook Watershed Conservation project. The award is part of a $3 million package of Quality Communities grants announced by the outgoing Secretary of State on December 29, 2006.
The LGA applied for the money on behalf of co-applicants, the Lake George Land Conservancy and the Village of Lake George, as well as other groups involved in this ambitious project: the Fund for Lake George, the Town of Lake George and Warren County.
Walt Lender, Executive Director for the LGA, was strongly encouraged by the announcement. “This is a wonderful Christmas present for all of the groups that have been involved with the West Brook project,” said Lender. “It is a great gift for Lake George and it illustrates a continued commitment on the part of New York State.”
The $92,000 will allow the project partners to contract with an internationally recognized environmental consulting firm to develop a workable solution to watershed management problems that have plagued the West Brook watershed and degraded water quality conditions in the southern basin of Lake George. Current problems include increasing sedimentation, nutrient loading and pollution being transported to the lake from the intensely developed West Brook watershed.
Preliminary steps in the West Brook project include purchase of the former Gaslight Village property from the Charles R. Wood Foundation, an abandoned amusement park site in the heart of Lake George Village. The property straddles West Brook before its outflow into the lake.
Proposed solutions include restoring wetlands that once existed on the site and installing a complex system of stormwater management structures. In addition to environmental remediation, the plans will attempt to balance the needs of the municipalities for protected open space, walking and biking trails, and visitor amenities.
West Brook is a major stream entering southern Lake George. The water quality of the brook has declined dramatically over recent decades, as documented by studies conducted in the 1980’s and 1990’s. A primary contributor of sediments and pollutants is stormwater runoff from developed, impervious areas along the Route 9 and I-87 corridors. West Brook and its watershed have become the largest contributor to water quality degradation in south Lake George.
Lender concluded, “The West Brook project is unprecedented in many ways. Several groups are working together to undertake a large-scale project that will provide tremendous benefits to Lake George and to the quality of life for the members of this community.”
The LGA is a not-for-profit membership organization of
people interested in working together to protect, conserve, and improve the
beauty and quality of the Lake George Basin. Interested in becoming an LGA
member? Contact the LGA at (518) 668-3558 or check out LGA on the web at www.lakegeorgeassociation.org.
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