Two newly protected properties in the Ithaca area will help safeguard drinking water sources serving nearly 60,000 people, state environmental officials announced Monday.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Finger Lakes Land Trust said the acquisition of two parcels totaling 33 acres will help protect water quality in the Six Mile Creek and Cayuga Lake watersheds, which supply drinking water to the City of Ithaca, Cornell University and several surrounding communities.
One of the properties includes 18 acres in the Town of Caroline within the Six Mile Creek watershed. About 15 acres of the site are wetlands, which naturally filter contaminants before they reach waterways. State officials said the acquisition will help protect drinking water for more than 29,000 people downstream and contributes to a broader effort by the Finger Lakes Land Trust to conserve at least 300 acres in the watershed.
The second property consists of 15 acres in the Cayuga Lake watershed and helps protect water sources used by multiple municipalities. The Bolton Point Municipal Water System serves roughly 30,000 people in Cayuga Heights, Dryden, Ithaca and Lansing, while Fall Creek provides drinking water for Cornell University. Officials said a conservation easement will preserve a large vegetated buffer along the creek that helps filter pollutants and improve downstream water quality.
DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton credited state investments in clean water infrastructure for making the acquisitions possible. Finger Lakes Land Trust President Andrew Zepp said the funding allows the organization to move quickly when environmentally sensitive properties become available.
The project was funded through the state’s Water Quality Improvement Project program, which awarded more than $200 million earlier this year for water quality, habitat restoration and drinking water protection initiatives statewide. The announcement comes as New York continues to expand investments in water infrastructure, including a recently approved five-year, $3.75 billion clean water funding plan.
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