Yesterday's clean up at Gala Waters (Hoyt Lake) brought some unexpected surprises to the surface of the calm waters. Whereas most years the murky water prevents volunteers from navigating the bottom of the lake (along the shores), this year the lake level was way down due to measures being taken to improve water quality. It may have been pure coincidence, but the timing couldn't have been better. Some of the 'finds' that were pulled out of the water included fishing poles, a bowling ball (photo below), Frisbees, a skateboard, a kid's scooter, small tires, countless cans and bottles, golfballs, and loads of other debris.
The reason that the lake level is so low is so that two new fresh water wells and a diversion tunnel can be added. The work is being performed in order to increase oxygen levels in the lake and decrease the amount of algae. That should lead to less bacteria and ultimately less odor. The $547,000 Hoyt Lake Wells & Improvement Project is just part of the plan to get the lake back to being cleaner. In the future, the Olmsted Parks Conservancy is going to be installing a fountain to help with the aeration. That project will go hand-in-hand with a dredging.
Earlier this month, Mayor Byron Brown, Deputy Commissioner of Parks Andrew Rabb and Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy President/CEO Thomas Herrera-Mishler announced the work that is commencing now. The timing couldn't have been any better for Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper's Fall shoreline sweep. The lower water levels worked wonders in the cleanup effort.
Thank you to the volunteers.
agreed. it takes a special person to wade into muck.
you cleared up a minor mystery. i was on the bike path yesterday afternoon and couldn't figure out why the water level was so low when we had just had rain.