Reply With QuoteCould there be chemicals sent into the creek from Adam's nursery since their drainage into the creek is just before Stony Rd?
Residents stumped by grayish color of creek
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-regi...creek-20141004Greg Nowak and his boys Tyler and Ben knew something wasn’t right with Ellicott Creek the moment they arrived to fish last Thursday afternoon in Lancaster.
The water, which often runs clear in this part of the town near Bowmansville, was a milky-grayish color.
“I’ve been fishing here for five years now, and I’ve never seen it like this,” Nowak said of his first visit to the fishing hole in about 2½ weeks.
It’s something Jean Elsinghorst, a Lancaster woman who’s lived on the banks of the creek for four decades, has also observed over about the same time frame.
Elsinghorst lives in a spartan, one-story home at One Haskell Drive. Several large picture windows in her home overlook her pastoral backyard that slopes down to the bank of the creek. She watches the creek every day.
“What’s wrong with the water?” is a question on the minds of Elsinghorst and a lot of her neighbors along Harris Hill Road.
That answer remained a mystery Friday afternoon.
State Department of Environmental Conservation investigators are looking into it along with the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper.
There’s no smell, so it’s unlikely a chemical, and the grayish-colored water extends from shore to shore in the affected area and appears to “intensify during the day,” Elsinghorst said.
What disturbs Elsinghorst is that the great blue heron that paid her yard morning visits has disappeared.
“He was there every morning,” said Elsinghorst. “Later in the afternoon, he’d be fishing in the falls on Genesee Street. I haven’t seen him there either.”
The mallard ducks have vanished, too. She said they haven’t been around “in a couple of weeks.”
The cormorants and a beaver are also gone.
Elsinghorst’s yard is deserted.
Water lilies have disappeared from the creek, and according to the Nowaks, the fish have, too.
Nowak, who said he and his 11- and 13-year-old sons frequently catch plentiful numbers of bass and perch in the creek waters here, didn’t get a single nibble late last week, although Tyler did snag a crayfish from the water while standing on the bank of the creek.
“The color – that looks dead,” Elsinghorst said of the water. “I’ve been here 40 years, I’ve not once seen it like this.”
Elsinghorst said a DEC official told her something “was being dumped in the water” when they visited her property Thursday.
State DEC officials, when reached by The Buffalo News on Friday, wouldn’t elaborate about the suspected cause of the apparent pollution.
Whatever’s happening can likely be traced to a 1-3 square mile area.
A visual survey by The News of the area this weekend morning revealed that further upstream – at Pavement Road in Lancaster – the waters of Ellicott Creek were crystal clear. The entire bottom creek bed was easily observed from the bridge over Pavement Road.
About a mile downstream, at a Stony Road bridge, the water appeared more turbid, also taking on the whitish-gray color observed near Elsinghorst’s property.
Jeff Brunea, a Forestville resident who cuts his father’s Harris Hill Road lawn beside the creek every week, is also stumped.
“Growing up in that house, I know what that creek is like,” Brunea said. “It’s strange. I’ve never seen it before. To me, it looks like gray water coming out.”
Brunea last fished the creek about two months ago but said he’s pulled everything from small and large mouth bass, northern pike, blue gill, sunfish and bullhead species from the water.
Brunea also said the creek’s had the grayish pall for “about three weeks now.”
“We haven’t had any rain per se. If the creek’s cloudy, it gets brown not gray,” he added. “To me, it’s quarry water.”
Nowak shares the theory.
Besides flowing through a large swath of heavy brush and woodland between Pavement and Harris Hill roads, there are a number of industrial and commercial sites within a stone’s throw of the creek, including a rock crushing operation, concrete supplier and recycler, a large distribution center of grocery and perishable items as well as the ongoing construction of a large new subdivision.
If authorities know the source, they weren’t saying Friday. “It’s certainly under investigation,” according to a local law enforcement official. “I can’t really give you information as of now.”
Is there something different in the quarry water?
Georgia L Schlager
Could there be chemicals sent into the creek from Adam's nursery since their drainage into the creek is just before Stony Rd?
Georgia L Schlager
Anything is possible in a creek that has seen town allowed development by the DEC and ACOE that negatively impacts this creek. Allowing a developer to put in a sanitary sewer line in the south branch of the Ellicott Creek at Pavement Road was incredulous for many of us.
As disturbing was allowing another developer to put a road in that bisected a 30+ acre state regulated wetland in the Pleasant Meadows subdivision development.
Developers and their BS rule in Lancaster.
Theres new owners of the land West of the Tops wharehouse it used to be owned by Adams nusery ! - Not saying they have done anything wrong - but again there has been a blind eye to whats being dumped on this property.
As far as the stone quarry - it dumps over 18Million gallons of quarry water and rock crushing residue into the creek - this happens just up stream from the affected areas. The Town Has routinely approved this with no yearly testing.
There's two cement companies, one at Pavement and Genesee and another at Pavement and Peppermint - they also dump into Ellicott Creek.
Also as Lee mentioned - there's a sewer line buried in Ellicott Creek from Stony going east to Cross Creeks subdivision.
Residents on Stony Road have been experiencing sewer back ups and increased need for sewer cleanings. As these sewers run to the same Ellicott Creek station as the Cross Creeks subdivision.
The Town Board has been aware of all these situations - with the possible exception of sewer backs on Stony Road.
They just keep approving more homes - lets face it - tax income/assessment value is their prime concern.
Infra structure has taken a back seat to development for 20 years -
#Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !
Georgia L Schlager
If I had to guess I would say its stone dust coming from BCS.
Democrats & Republicans Suck Alike.
I hope atleast one of the residents had the fore sight to take a sample.
The DEC moved just fast enough for the haze to move out and settle !
The odds on favorite for this event is stone quarry pumping water and blasting by products - stone dust !
This isn't new its just blatant - the Town has been aware of this for many - many years. They approve it without any water testing or content monitoring.
Just check and see who BCS contributes to !
Is it a conspiracy - No ! Its economical/political fact.
#Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !
Yes folks - its great to see all the concern over what's being pumped into Ellicott Creek ! I wonder if they will now order the Stone Quarry to submit water samples - Na - who cares ?
Clarence and Willaimsville don't care either - after all its the home owners who pay ever rising flood insurance - who cares ?
#Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !
Quarry pump cited by DEC in creek area discoloration
Lancaster problem tied to Buffalo Crushed Stone
By T.J. Pignataro | News Staff Reporter
A pump at a Clarence quarry has been found to be responsible for the discoloration along an area of Ellicott Creek in Lancaster last month, the state Department of Environmental Conservation revealed.
Buffalo Crushed Stone was cited with a notice of violation by state environmental officials “for an unlawful discharge that caused increased turbidity and a substantial visible contrast to natural conditions in Ellicott Creek,” according to a DEC statement.
Neighbors who noticed that the normally clear water of the creek had turned to a milky grayish color in late September contacted the DEC in early October.
The creek, which ran clear as near as Pavement Road, was turbid for at least two weeks near Harris Hill Road. Neighbors reported the fish normally in this serene area of the creek had disappeared along with wildlife such as the great blue herons, ducks and beavers.
DEC officials said their investigation revealed the discolored water was tracked to an outfall at the Buffalo Crushed Stone operation and that a pump used to remove water at the quarry was the cause of the discharge.
That pump, being used while the company was mining a bottom 9-foot layer of limestone in the quarry, was shut down at that time, according to DEC officials.
“The company has discontinued the practice that caused the discharge and has started a daily visual inspection log for discharge water to ensure that any water discoloration will be noticed immediately in the future,” the DEC stated.
DEC officials said Buffalo Crushed Stone cooperated with the agency and provided it with its operational procedures that led to the discharge along with assurances it would change them to prevent any future incidents.
“The company must certify that changes in procedures or Best Management Practices are implemented,” the DEC stated.
No one from Buffalo Crushed Stone could be reached late Monday to comment. DEC officials said the company, in efforts to eliminate any recurrences of the turbid water, assured the agency it would not further pursue the bottom layer of limestone.
“DEC is still reviewing the matter to determine if additional enforcement action is appropriate,” the DEC stated.
News of the findings didn’t surprise at least one man familiar with the area.
Jeff Brunea of Forestville visits the area weekly to cut his father’s lawn along Harris Hill Road that is adjacent to the creek.
Brunea had a hunch in early October: “To me, it’s quarry water,” he told The Buffalo News.
“Growing up in that house,” Brunea said at the time, “I know what that creek is like.”
He was last in the area about a week ago.
“It was just like it should be,” Brunea said.
Georgia L Schlager
No, it should be free of bacteria from human waste but it is not. It might look great, but I'd never allow my dog to swim in it without giving him the equivalent of a radioactive decontamination shower afterward.Originally Posted by gorja
1997 - Residents informed the Lancaster Town Board about the increased water being pumped into Ellicott Creek. It appeared that even during flood stages - like when the flood forced the Bowmansville Fire Department to leave the Fire House - the pumping continued.
Other residents complained that the same water saturated the land to the south of Genesee Road - renedering much of it unbuildable and swamp like.
The quarry had used another under ground pipe about a half mile further east which ran under Genesee Road and into the same area south of Genesee Road(the channel is visible still) - along with the channel carved.
When the residents inquired as to why this was going on Supervisor Giza said, "The water helps keep the Creek open and running in the winter" -
Councilmember Stempniak stated, "Its a permitted use - there's nothing we can do" - she and the Supervisor forgot to say - they voted for and approved that permit.(Yearly)
18Million gallons yearly
As far as anyone knows there's no content testing at any time - and now they will at least do visual observation for turbidity. But no sampling - or analysis of content or high water/flood stage controls/limits.
This like other flooding issues in the Stony Road to Bowmansville area were caused by the Town of Lancaster - why - because in 1954 +/- the Town rerouted Ellicott Creek. The move also guaranteed the Town and County would maintain the Creek in this area - which has never been done.
In over 28 years I have never once seen any clearing work done in the Creek area. Our road side ditches remain 80% blocked and some completely filled.
Supervisor Giza once stated publicly - "I rather close Stony Road and bulldoze those houses before I spend a dime on that area" -
#Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !
Spot on 4248! You in particular and others have been citing the pollution coming from quarries over the years and the other BS that has taken place with this creek.
The DEC or state will do nothing with Buffalo Crushed Stone as the state is one of the biggest clients of BCS using the stone for its road paving needs.
I still think it's hilarious that you think 18M gallons annually is a lot of water when it comes to flooding.
From a 1986 report, it stated that the quarries pump as much as 23 million gallons per day but the average ranges from 1.5 million gal per day to 6.0 million gallons per day. So, at the low end of 1.5 million gal per day, it would be about 547.5 million gal annually.
Georgia L Schlager
Cant be true - would Councilmember Stempniak and past Supervisor Bob Giza lie about that too ?
#Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !
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