Warner Bay photo from Lake Stewardship Group of Cleverdale
Welcome to Warner Bay
See below to learn about the characteristics of your bay and what they mean for your water quality.
Warner Bay Profile
Located in the Town of Queensbury in Warren County, the Warner Bay watershed flows into the Dome Island sub-basin of Lake George. This sub-basin is named for the famous dome-shaped island and contains the deepest location in the lake.
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 13% of the watershed (151 acres).
- Properties: Nearly 60% of the properties in the watershed are within the CEA (193 of 321).
- Streams: 1.5 miles of DEC regulated AA-Special streams. 12.5 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: 4.4 miles of roads: including 1.9 miles of Town roads, 1.5 miles of State roads, 0.57 miles of Private roads, and 0.46 miles of County roads. Of the 4.4 miles, 0.7 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
14.4% 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. You can improve 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
The large forested and scrub/shrub wetlands south of Warner Bay cover approximately 145 acres. That's over 90% of the watershed's wetland area and it provides a critical service to Warner Bay's water quality by cleaning water flowing into the lake. It's an important area to protect.
50% of the watershed has steep slopes. Most are located east of Route 9L and largely remain undeveloped. 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 30% 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 0.7 miles from your watershed. HWA often spreads via birds and will likely arrive around Warner Bay soon.