As shoreline damage continues mounting around Seneca Lake, a regional advocacy organization is urging residents to immediately report property impacts to local emergency management officials as counties begin documenting losses tied to sustained high water levels.
In an update sent Thursday night, the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association said it has been working directly with the Ontario County Office of Emergency Management as local and state agencies assess damage caused by weeks of elevated lake levels and repeated wind events.
The group said county emergency management officials are actively collecting reports from affected residents in an effort to build a countywide damage assessment that could support future disaster relief requests.
Residents were asked to provide contact information, photographs, descriptions of damage and estimated financial losses to county emergency management offices in Ontario, Schuyler, Yates and Seneca counties, along with local municipal officials and state lawmakers.
The organization said recent reports from Geneva-area residents included destroyed docks, severe erosion, retaining wall failures, damaged electrical systems and structural impacts that could not yet be fully assessed because of ongoing flooding conditions.
Ontario County emergency officials also warned residents not to enter compromised structures or damaged dock areas and advised anyone concerned about structural safety to call 911 for assistance from local fire departments.
The association said local officials are also coordinating requests for sandbags and erosion protection measures through town and city governments.
The latest alert comes as communities around Seneca Lake continue grappling with unusually high water levels fueled by persistent rainfall across New York state this spring. The group said county officials are working with the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to pursue additional state and federal assistance if conditions continue worsening.
The association said damage reports from residents will be critical to any coordinated multi-county emergency response effort or future disaster aid requests.
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