Algal blooms have occurred with increasing frequency in the Finger Lakes in the last decade. Recent modeling studies of nutrient loading to waterbodies in the Finger Lakes region have attributed most loads to agricultural land use and have identified the potential to reduce loads using additional land management practices (e.g. Seneca-Keuka Lake 9E Plan, 2022). However, the watershed nutrient loading models are calibrated and validated against limited watershed water quality monitoring data. Of particular concern is the possibility that insufficiently validated watershed models misinform watershed managers on the source of nutrients in waterbodies and the potential to mitigate these sources. The central objective of this work is to provide more extensive tributary monitoring of both streamflow and nutrient concentrations across multiple subwatersheds and over multiple years in the Seneca Lake Watershed. This information will indicate the effectiveness of current nutrient reduction measures and provide direct evidence of whether additional nutrient reduction measures are necessary and where they should be targeted for implementation.
