Welcome to Oneida (Van Buren) Bay
See below to learn about the characteristics of your bay and what they mean for your water quality.
Oneida (VAN BUREN) Bay Profile
Red areas are steep slopes. The CEA is within the yellow outline. Light blue is the watershed and dark blue are streams.
Overview
Located in the Town of Hague in Warren County, the Oneida (Van Buren) Bay watershed flows into the Rogers Rock sub-basin of Lake George. This sub-basin is named for the famous 400’ rockface that Captain Robert Rogers of the British Army was said to have used to escape capture during the French and Indian War.
The Critical Environmental Area (CEA), a band of land extending back 500 feet from the shoreline and considered the most influential land to the lake's water quality, makes up 7.8% of the watershed (48.6 acres). You can see it in yellow in this map.
- Properties: More than half of the properties in the watershed are within the CEA (59 of 111).
- Streams: 1.5 miles of DEC regulated AA-Special streams. 5.5 miles of intermittent streams that only flow during portions of the year (Spring runoff or rain events) or run year-round streams that are unregulated by DEC at this time.
- Roads: 2.8 miles of roads: including 2 miles of Town roads, 0.57 miles of State roads, and 0.21 miles of Private roads. Of the 2.8 miles, 0.2 miles are within 100 feet of the shoreline and at a greater risk for introducing salt and other runoff to the lake.
Impervious Surface Is Impacting Water Quality
10% of the land in the CEA is covered by impervious surfaces such as roads, roofs, or driveways. Impervious surfaces covering more than 10% of the CEA will have an impact on water quality, so you're right on the edge. You can protect your water quality by avoiding further impervious surface development, capturing any stormwater runoff between these surfaces and streams or the lake shore, and converting existing surfaces into something that water can sink into, like permeable pavers. Consider planting a shoreline buffer as a protective cushion for the lake.
Areas to Protect From Development and Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
Over 97% of the watershed's area is forested. The forested areas cover approximately 607 acres and protect Oneida (Van Buren) Bay's water quality by providing cover and breaking up rainfall. The roots systems create soil conditions that allow for greater infiltration. It's an important area to protect.
80% of the watershed has steep slopes. Most are upland of Route 9N. Logging, a large tree die off, and development in those areas would all likely lead to additional stormwater runoff.
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) is slowly spreading around the Lake, threatening the health of our Hemlock forests. Approximately 20% of the tree cover is Conifer (evergreen) trees, some of which are Hemlocks. Hemlock stands within your watershed have the potential to become infested without proper monitoring and management. The closest confirmed infestation is 2.4 miles from your watershed, but HWA often spreads via birds and will likely arrive around Oneida (Van Buren) Bay soon.