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New York

Regional Goals for the Great Lakes

Through Blue Accounting, experts collaborate to track progress toward shared goals for key issues affecting the Great Lakes. Below is what we are currently tracking for New York.

Goal
Progress
New York is working to reduce nutrient loss in its Lake Erie watersheds; however, no reduction target has been set for the eastern basin of Lake Erie through 2012 revisions to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Prevent the introduction of new aquatic invasive species
%

Progress is reported by metric

Detect and respond to new introduction of aquatic invasive species
%

in development

Control established aquatic invasive species to reduce negative impacts
%

in development

Protect sources of drinking water
%

Progress will be reported by metric

Meet treatment requirements
%

Progress will be reported by metric

Distribute safe water
%

Progress will be reported by metric

Additional information about New York

New York participates in various binational initiatives under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) intended to better understand nutrient conditions in Lake Erie and, where appropriate, support nutrient and sediment load reduction efforts if needed. To the extent they apply to the Eastern basin of Lake Erie, these binational efforts are integrated into New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda (GLAA) that guides the state’s actions “to protect, restore, conserve, and enhance the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters and associated natural resources within the Great Lakes basin for sustainable use and enjoyment by the people of New York.”

Included amongst the six priority goals of the GLAA, is the goal to “control sediment, nutrient, and pathogen loadings so that drinking water quality, aquatic life, recreational uses, and people are protected.” Priority strategies that support this goal include:

    • Identify sources of impairments and implement plans and projects to improve tributary and nearshore water quality.
    • Support municipal efforts to protect water quality through land use protection and policy, and water infrastructure improvements.
    • Reduce sediment and nutrient runoff from agricultural sources through best management practices (BMPs), comprehensive farm planning, and soil health programs.
    • Expand the protection and restoration of riparian buffers to benefit water quality, climate resiliency, and habitat.

Since New York’s first GLAA was released in 2014, numerous partnerships have been formed, programs have been created, and state and federal investments have been secured. A program assessment revealed that progress has been made on over 83% of the actions listed in the original GLAA.

With annual support from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund, New York State agencies and other partners have leveraged over $215 million in federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding since 2010 to implement projects throughout the basin that prevent and clean up toxic contamination, improve nearshore health through reduced nutrient loading, manage invasive species, restore native fish and wildlife habitat, support efforts to educate the next generation, and conduct important research and monitoring to inform management decisions.

Information on New York’s efforts is available through a number of websites, a partial list is provided below:

What we do

Blue Accounting is an information service to track the region’s progress toward shared goals for the Great Lakes. Maintained by the Great Lakes Commission, the information developed by Blue Accounting helps elected officials make sure that policies and programs are effective at protecting the largest fresh surface water system on earth.

What we measure

The Great Lakes Commission’s Blue Accounting team works with experts to identify goals and methods to track progress on key Great Lakes issues. Currently, Blue Accounting is tracking progress on protecting the region from aquatic invasive species and keeping phosphorus out of Lake Erie.