PRESENCE OF MERCURY IN LAKES AND RIVERS IN CENTRAL NEW YORK

In 2004, a study by the USGS was released indicating that the mercury concentrations in NY were below drinking water limits. However, in a 2009 Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) fish advisories report, several streams and rivers in central NY were classified as having high mercury concentrations in fish. Measured mercury concentrations were above the limit dictated by the DEC. The DEC routinely tested rivers and streams, but lakes were never investigated. The purpose of this study was to test three lakes (Wilber, Goodyear, and Otsego Lake) and two rivers (Unadilla and Susquehanna River) for mercury in Central New York. The water bodies were tested for methyl and total mercury. Part of the study included testing the drinking water source for Oneonta, NY. All five bodies of water were found to have traces of total mercury and four out of five had traces of methyl mercury. Otsego Lake was the only site that had methyl mercury concentrations below detection limits. Although our results remained under New York state limits, it is still a concern for human health in regards to fish consumption. Our next step is to find the source of the mercury and test mercury levels in fish from the lakes tested in this study.