Skaneateles Lake's Pure Water

Facts About The Watershed:

• Pure water from Skaneateles Lake flows unfiltered to more than 220,000 households. Skaneateles Lake is the primary source of water for residents in and around the City of Syracuse.


• Being some 16 miles long and averaging about 3/4 miles wide, Skaneateles Lake is home to 413 billion gallons of pure water! It sits about 863 feet above sea level.


• The watershed is also home to 2,600 residences, of which 1,000 are along the 35 miles of shore line. This also includes 60+ farms with about 2,000 livestock.


• The relationship between the relatively small watershed and the large volume of water in Skaneateles Lake provides a kind of natural protection to the Skaneateles Lake that few other lakes enjoy. The watershed is only 59 square miles, and the lake has a surface area of 13.6 square miles, for a ratio of 4.3 acres of watershed to each acre of lake. In contrast, Oneida Lake has about 17.3 acres of watershed/acre of lake surface and Cayuga Lake has 12.2 acres of watershed/acre of lake surface. This helps to account for the long retention time of about 18 years in Skaneateles Lake.


• Scientifically, Skaneateles Lake is classified as 'oligotrophic', or a lake with low productivity due to low levels of nutrients. This helps keep algae and other aquatic vegetation to a minimum. It also helps keeps the water so clear and transparent.


• Skaneateles Lake is governed by three counties and five towns. The Counties are: Onondaga, Cayuga , and Cortland. The towns are: Skaneateles 57%, Niles 7%, Scott 14%, Spafford 19%, Sempronius 3%.