The Eastern Finger Lakes watershed is located in portions of these New York State counties: Yates Wayne Tompkins, Steuben Seneca Schuyler Ontario Onondaga Cortland Chemung Cayuga

The Eastern Finger Lakes watershed is made up of these watersheds: Canandaigua Lake Keuka Lake Seneca Lake Cayuga Lake Owasco Lake Skaneateles Lake Otisco Lake Onondaga Lake Seneca River Erie Canal

The Eastern Finger Lakes area makes up 30 percent of the Lake Ontario watershed and is a critical resource for drinking water for more than 600,000 people, fish and wildlife habitat, agricultural production, and recreation and tourism.

In cooperation with the New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation and Agriculture and Markets, the Eastern Finger Lakes Coalition (EFLC) districts are expanding professional capacity while accelerating implementation of proven best management practices, on- and off-farm, to prevent nutrient and soil loss watershed wide. These collective efforts align with federal- and state-approved clean water and pollution prevention plans by helping to mitigate the prevalence of harmful algal blooms.

In New York State, SWCDs are the lead local agencies for addressing water quality concerns. For more than 85 years, SWCDs have worked with landowners of all land use types, including urban, suburban, rural, agricultural, and municipal. SWCD staff are specially trained in how to assess, plan, design, implement, and evaluate best management practices that improve water quality.

Water quality BMPs are widely-approved systems, or projects, designed to manage runoff. BMPs generally slow and divert stormwater to mitigate flooding and prevent contaminants like road debris, eroding soil and sediment, and excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from reaching waterways. BMPs designed to alleviate flooding and manage streambank erosion can also protect important infrastructure and help to retain land use.

New York State committed $42 million dollars from the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act and other capital resources (https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-42-million-protect-eastern-finger-lakes-watershed)to support water quality improvements and combat harmful algal blooms in the Eastern Finger Lakes region. This funding, administered by the Department of Agriculture and Markets, directly supports EFLC communities in designing and implementing innovative agricultural and resilience projects, on and off farms. New York State committed an additional $1.2 million from the Environmental Protection Fund,(https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-42-million-protect-eastern-finger-lakes-watershed) in both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 State budgets, to build professional capacity of SWCDs and further accelerate implementation of conservation practices that support implementation of approved clean water plans. The capital infusion, administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation, also includes support for farms to invest in cover crops, improve culverts to reduce runoff, and other investments to improve soil health and reduce water quality impairments in the region.