Otisco Lake Preservation Association

10/21/2026

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will conduct a nationwide drug collection on Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Collections will be held at many locations around the state and are the best way to dispose of unused and unwanted pharmaceuticals (for humans and pets) to protect our environment. For more information and locations, visit DEA's National Drug Take Back webpage.
In addition, DEA and New York State Department of Health’s (DOH) Drug Take Back (DTB) program allow retail pharmacies and other entities to become authorized collectors, so there are medication drop box locations that are open year-round. The DTB program also provides mail-back supplies for the safe collection and disposal of unused covered drugs free of charge to the consumer. Visit DEC's Drugs in New York's Waters webpage and DOH’s Drug Take Back webpage for more information about the safe disposal of drugs and keeping them out of our waters.
https://www.dea.gov/takebackday

10/12/2026

If you live in the town of Spafford, please take a moment to take this survey. The town is currently in the process of writing a comprehensive plan and would like your input! Thank you!
Survey Link:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SpaffordNYCompPlan

07/13/2026

REMINDER FOR TOMORROW'S EVENT:

07/10/2026

Be on the Lookout for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) on Otisco Lake

On June 29th, Otisco Lake experienced the first occurrences of Harmful Algal Blooms. These confirmed blooms were south of the causeway, Fitzgerald Point, Amber Beach and Wheeler Terrace. Samples were gathered of two of the blooms and taken to SUNY ESF department of chemistry for testing. The tests came back to be positive for blue green algae in extreme abundance, which is common for a HAB.

There are about 8,000 different cyanobacteria, of which only 130 are known to produce toxins. The type found in our HABs is a very common early season blue-green algae rarely associated with toxin formation, especially in our region. The lab is moving forward with testing our samples to see if this is the case.

On July 8th, two more HABs were confirmed, one at Burma Road and one on Olanco. On July 9th, a new HAB was reported on Otisco Valley Road near Davis Grove.

It is important to remember to stay out of water that contains the HAB, keep your pets out of that water, do not drink the water, boat or fish in that area. HABs can stay active for 2 weeks, even if they seem to disappear. Please report any HABS on the DEC website https://survey123.arcgis.com and contact Mary DeSantis @ 315-415-2451.

Thank you for your help in keeping our lake community safe!

07/07/2026

Don't miss the Rain Barrel Workshop! We have openings for this Friday, July 10th!
MAKE YOUR OWN RAIN BARREL WORKSHOP

Friday, July 10th 3-5 pm

Amber Community Center,

2223 Amber Road, Marietta, NY

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Don’t Feed the Weeds.

Rainwater from your roof creates runoff which picks up chemicals and soil erosion as it goes into Otisco Lake. Runoff contributes to unwanted w**d growth in the lake.

Learn how to capture the rain in a rain barrel and reuse it before it feeds the w**ds.

$20.00 per barrel for OLPA members

$40.00 per barrel for non-members

Price includes instruction, the 55 gal food grade barrel, all the hardware and tools to make your own rain barrel.

Registration is limited to 20 barrels.

Space still available! Register online to secure your spot or in person!
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To Register for the Rain Barrel Workshop as a member, you must log in to your account and sign up on your portal page to get the discount: LOG IN HERE: https://otiscolakepreservation.app.neoncrm.com/login?secureIdCustomer=1&

For non-members, you can go directly to the sign up page: REGISTER HERE:https://otiscolakepreservation.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F48262

QUESTIONS?

Contact Kathleen Joy:

[email protected]

06/23/2026

Mark your calendars for the annual meeting on July 23rd @ the Marietta House 6 pm.
Also, tonight is the Native Plant presentation at the Otisco Lake Community Center @ 7pm. Free plant give aways for members and large gift basket raffles for all that attend!!! Don't miss it.

Not a member? Consider joining! Here's the link:
https://otiscolakepreservation.org/new-membership

06/17/2026

Reminder: Don't miss these events!

This week: Septic Meeting and Dumpster Day

Septic Meeting: June 18th, 2026 Marietta House 6:00 pm

Otisco has the most densely concentrated septic systems of the Finger Lakes. HABs bacteria thrive on human waste.

Come learn about proper care and maintenance, with selected properties receiving vouchers toward services.

Dumpster Day - June 20th, 2542 Otisco Valley Rd. Marietta, NY 13110

Time: 9 am - 2 pm

No mattresses, electronics, tires, puff furniture or household garbage.

(Members only)….If you are not a member, you can sign up the day of the event!

Using Native Plants in your Yard: Lake First/Lake Friendly

Otisco Lake Community Center, 2223 Amber Road Marietta

June 23, 2026, 7 pm - 9 pm

Otisco Lake Community Center

2223 Amber Road, Marietta

Join us for an engaging presentation hosted by our Partner, Lake Friendly Living which will focus on understanding native plants and flowers that can be planted to fight erosion and reducing lawn maintenance.

This Lake-Friendly event will feature a free plant giveaway for members, and we’ll also be raffling off larger gift baskets for all attendees.

Parking is available at the community center, located to the left of the fire hall. We hope to see you there!

Check the events page for all the summer events!

Board Meetings February 18, 2026 6 pm (Zoom)March 18, 2026 6 pm (Zoom)April 15, 2026 6 pm (Zoom)May 20, 2026 6 pm Community Center (Open to Members)June 17, 2026, 6 pm Community Center (Open to Members)July 15th, 2026 6 pm Community Center (Closed Meeting) Board meeting to appoint Officers and Commi...

06/12/2026

OLPA is so excited to share details of the profile monitoring buoy now actively working in the southern end of the lake. This equipment is monitoring in real time and you can access data using the link below.
https://www.upstatefreshwater.org/data/otisco-lake

Wind speed and direction, temperature and solar radiation are accessible in 15 minute increments. The buoy tests the water every meter to a depth of about 65 feet, two times every 24 hours, collecting and sending data about temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphorus, chlorophyll and other key characteristics. These are also displayed on the website in addition to historical comparisons from a similar buoy from 2002. This data will inform us about the sources and behavior of the phosphorus cycle in the lake and ultimately assist in modeling where the phosphorus is coming from. We are correlating stream sampling with in lake sampling to complete the phosphorus budget.

This buoy is possible due to the efforts of 6th District (Skaneateles, Marcellus and Camillus) County Legislator Gregg Eriksen.

When asked to convey his thoughts on this project he said:

"I'm very pleased to have been able to work with the OLPA to secure funding for this critical water monitoring project. Otisco Lake is a major water supplier to OCWA. This buoy will collect the data necessary to qualify for additional funding and grant programs aimed at preserving and protecting Otisco Lake. I'm grateful to the volunteers at OLPA who get up each day to keep our water clean." Gregg Eriksen

We especially appreciate his efforts because funding for research is rare and hard to acquire, when we asked for his help he immediately said yes and went to work.

We hope the recreating public, fishing community and curious science citizens alike are intrigued by this equipment and check out the data. Most of all we want our Otisco community to know that things are happening and science based action is in play.

With every feat we accomplish we draw the attention and support of more government level agencies, which in addition, helps us secure more funding and grants for future projects!

Thanks for supporting our cause to save, preserve and protect Otisco Lake!

https://www.upstatefreshwater.org/data/otisco-lake

06/06/2026

Septic Care & Maintenance Meeting

June 18, 2026 - 6 pm Marietta House

Please join us for an informative session on Care & Maintenance of your Septic System.

Eligible lake residents in attendance may qualify for partial reimbursement!!

Additional Upcoming Events:
Dumpster Day June 20th 9am - 2pm
Lake First/Lake Friendly June 23rd 7pm - 9pm
Rain Barrel Workshop July 10th 3pm - 5pm
Macrophyte Survey Program Workshop July 14th 10am - 12pm
OLPA Annual Meeting July 23rd 6 pm

To get full details and to register for some of these events, visit the OLPA website events page! https://otiscolakepreservation.org/events-1

06/04/2026

We’ve installed a profiling buoy in the lake today. We will share a link for real time weather data and other information next week! Huge plus for our efforts to save Otisco!