UPDATED ARTICLE ON FREDONIA RESERVOIR.
JULES HOEPTING
Managing Editor
The Fredonia Reservoir has been filling up with sediment for decades. Many Fredonia citizens are concerned the logging of trees near the Fredonia reservoir will further increase the sediment in the reservoir and result in more occurrences of unfit drinking water.
The Village of Fredonia and SUNY Fredonia receive drinking water from the Fredonia Reservoir, located about two miles south of the village near Spooden Road off State Highway 60. Forecon, a forestry consulting firm, created a forest management plan that involves logging trees near the reservoir. Although this plan had been discussed with the public and approved in 2019, then put on hold due to COVID-19, the final steps of implementation have recently sparked concern among many citizens. Several SUNY Fredonia professors from various departments voiced their concerns at the Village of Fredonia meeting on Nov. 1, 2021.
Vegetation such as trees and grass help keep soil in place by absorbing water. The less vegetation there is, the less absorption occurs and the easier it is for particles of soil and other sediments to slide away, also known as erosion. These particles end up elsewhere, often into the nearest body of water, and settle based on the particles’ size and weight, a process called sedimentation. Thus, the less trees that are near the reservoir, the more erosion occurs and the more sedimentation accumulates in the reservoir.
According to biology professor and researcher in plant ecology Dr. Jonathan Titus, there is evidence the same logging activity approved by Forecon in 2019 was “undertaken in the 1970s and 1990s [and] is what led to the problems with sedimentation in the reservoir today.” Titus further noted that “the forests surrounding the reservoir are located on steep slopes and, in some cases, highly unstable soils that are particularly susceptible to landslides. These same forests … do an excellent job of filtering rainwater, slowing down overland flows and retaining sediments on site.” Titus is also concerned that forest dirt roads will increase sedimentation once they are used for logging; these roads already experience erosion from illegal ATV usage.
The more sediments there are suspended in water, the more turbid, or cloudy the water will appear. With the exposure of steep slopes prone to landslides, it is likely lots of particles will slide into the Fredonia Reservoir. Due to years of natural sedimentation accumulation, with large sedimentation deposits during major storms, there have been multiple instances of high turbidity that led to undrinkable water for Fredonia citizens.
“Given that the majority of students currently on campus recall the nearly three-week span last year, Sept. 10–30, when we couldn’t drink the tap water without boiling it, we should all be informed [of the logging]. The water advisory was due to concerns about water quality in the Fredonia water reservoir and high turbidity,” said Dr. Tracy Marafiote, communication professor.
According to a 2016 study on the Fredonia Reservoir and treatment plant conducted by the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services, since the reservoir was constructed, it “has lost 43% of its volume to sedimentation; ongoing erosion processes and other storms have also deposited large amounts of sediment in the reservoir.”
This is problematic, according to VANM professor Margaret Urban, because the sedimentation in the water “stresses the water filtration system in the treatment plant that provides the water supply for the village.” Because of the decreasing amount of room for water in the reservoir, it takes less time for reservoir water to warm up in the summer than it did in previous years. The shallower, warmer water provides ideal growing conditions for algae which further stresses the filtration system and “jeopardizes” the village water supply.
Urban, whose design work explores the connections between communities and ecosystems, is especially concerned about sedimentation build up as the reservoir’s dam has been listed as “severely inadequate” since 1980 and is prone to dam failure in the case of a large storm.
“One of the few things that we know greatly diminishes soil erosion is the presence of a forest with developed root structure … With so many uncertainties in our future as a community, region, nation and planet, why willingly relinquish one of the few things we know will help moderate some of those unknowns?” Urban asked.
Several citizens found themselves asking why the village approved the logging during the Nov. 1 public hearing, and suspected there was a monetary incentive.
Village of Fredonia Trustee EvaDawn Bashaw assured that the money that would be obtained from the logging was really not that much. Bashaw assured that the only money Forecon would receive, and has received, is for the forest management plan the company put together. The logging would be outsourced to another company and overseen by Forecon to ensure correct implementation.
Bashaw fully admits there is a sedimentation issue in the reservoir and that dredging — the removal of built up mud, weeds and garbage at the bottom of a water system — has been needed but not implemented for decades. According to the Chautauqua Health and Human Services 2016 report, “dredging projects were planned in 1965, 1972, 1999 and 2001 but were never completed.”
Bashaw assured citizens at the meeting that Forecon, which the village had been working with for years, did a thorough analysis of the forests around the reservoir and the consequences of logging. She stressed that because the studied area was near a public drinking source there were extra precautions taken, as is required by certain laws. She also stressed that the management plan is intended to take place over the course of 15 years; trees will not be logged all at one time. Bashaw explained the village had discussed and approved the forest management plan during public meetings in 2019, which are available to watch on the Fredonia Access YouTube channel, and that the greater public concern around the logging is more recent.
It is important to note that, according to a staff member of the Village of Fredonia office who wishes to remain anonymous, the logging project was initiated by former mayor Athanasia Landis and an almost entirely different board of trustees in 2019. Thus, there are current officials of the village who lack an extensive background on the forest management project.
The report had been available in the village office for public viewing, but was not uploaded to the website until after the Nov. 1 meeting.
Village trustee and SUNY Fredonia English professor Dr. Scott Johnson admitted in a Nov. 2 email, the day after the meeting, he knew “next to nothing” about the logging plan because it had been approved by a different mayor and board. He said he would know more about the issue after Forecon presented its findings to the public in a few weeks.
Forecon’s 119-page “Village of Fredonia Watershed Properties Forest Management Plan 2020-2034” report can be found on villageoffredoniany.com by clicking “Watershed Properties Forest Management Plan” under “Public Announcements” on the homepage.
The report covers all of the different stands, or zones, within the studied area — an estimated 285 acres. Each zone has a detailed report on the topography of the zone, all of the species present within the zone, whether or not the trees present would be ideal for harvest, the effects of the removal of the trees, the estimated liquidated value of the lumber, the year of the last forest harvest, the invasive species present in the zone and the management plans for the invasive species.
In the report’s own words, “Management recommendations are intentionally conservative to improve the quality, health and long-term value of the timber asset as a first priority so that the forest can be a productive source of revenue indefinitely.”
The report also notes, “Care should be taken with harvesting along creeks and [water] drainages, around any spring seeps or large vernal pools [temporary pools that only form in spring], and on or near soils and steep slopes that are more erodible — slightly higher stocking levels [more trees within an area] should be maintained along creeks to minimize overexposure to sunlight to keep the water temperatures cool, keep the soil along the banks stable and minimize erosion.”
In the forest management agreement signed by the previous mayor on Aug. 8, 2019, Forecon stated “we know full well the importance these properties have to protect and clean the village’s water supply” and that “strategic harvesting is critical to the protection of all resources, especially the water.”
The Nov. 1 village meeting asked for approval to grant the logging company with the highest bid, meaning the company that would offer the most money for the lumber, permission to carry out Forecon’s logging plan. Because of the public’s concerns, this approval has not been granted, and experts and representatives from Forecon will present their reasoning to the public in a few weeks: this presentation date has not been set as of Nov. 5. After this presentation, village officials may decide not to accept the plan’s recommendations, in which case the village would abide by the terms of contract with Forecon for not implementing the plan. Forecon has already received payment for putting together the report.
The Leader will continue to update this story as it develops.