“People say that if you find water rising up to your ankle, that’s the time to do something about it, not when it’s around your neck.”

Nigerian novelist, poet,

professor, and critic

Seneca Lake is the largest of the Finger Lakes. It touches four counties: Seneca, Yates, Ontario and Schuyler. As the largest of the 11-lake glacial chain, it holds the most water of all (estimated at 3.81 cubic miles, roughly half of the others combined; 1 cubic mile holds 1.1 trillion gallons). It has a depth in some areas exceeding 800 feet.

That’s a lot of water. And the combination of a winter snow melt producing more water than in recent years, higher-than-normal rainfall, and strong wind activity has been wreaking havoc on homeowners living along Seneca Lake’s perimeter. In fact, the past few years have seen more high-water-related destruction than the previous 25 years — and perhaps more.

There are expensive mansions, small cottages, and places handed down through generations. They are owned by many people — some wealthy and many who are not. The latest high-water issues do not discriminate, and many folks would like to know what they can do about it.

A post put on the “I Love Seneca Lake” group Facebook page asked for discussion on the topic and pictures of damage. It was no surprise that a large number of people engaged in the topic.

“We live at Reeds Point and have seen some high water in the 25 years we have lived here, but never as devastating as this,” said Connie VanGorden, whose family owns property on the west side of Seneca Lake. “And it has lasted so long, we haven’t seen any improvement in two weeks. The damage occurred with the south winds combined with the highest water we have ever seen here.”

A big question many have is who is responsible for controlling the flow of water in and out of Seneca Lake?

A letter written April 10 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding the filing of a report by Jessica Antonez, regulatory and compliance specialist for Relevate Power, says the following:

“Relevate Power is the licensee for the Waterloo and Seneca Falls Hydroelectric Project. The Project license requires that the Licensee maintain the Seneca Lake impoundment [water level] within 0.3 foot of the seasonal target elevations of 446.0 feet Barge Canal Datum (BCD) during the summer and 445.0 feet BCD during the winter. During flood control events, the impoundment upper limit is 10.55 foot. The Seneca Lake transition from winter to summer takes place in a 20-day period beginning March 1. During this time frame, as is the Project received higher than average precipitation, which had resulted in the Licensee being above the Project rule curve in preparation for navigation season.

Throughout the month of March, C-S Canal Hydro had been working to maintain the balance of refilling the lake in preparation for navigation season while also trying to anticipate future precipitation and snow melt levels. The higher than average amounts caused the lake to refill quicker than normal. On March 2, 2026, Unit 11 [dam] of the Waterloo Development experienced electrical issues. The Licensee has been working with a contractor to repair the unit, but it has remained offline since that date through the high precipitation events in April, as additional parts were needed. Additionally, the Unit 6 bypass gate is currently unable to be operated or raised mechanically, as is detailed in the April 9, 2026. The immediate action taken in response to determining that the gate was inoperable was to further raise the cylinder gate within the powerhouse, and pass the same amount of flow that would have gone through the bypass gate.

The Licensee is continuing to pass the maximum amount of flow that is possible while maintaining a safe level at Van Cleef Lake and not creating further issues for stakeholders downstream [Seneca Lake is upstream]. The Licensee is committed to continuing to work with all available resources to lower Seneca Lake as quickly as practicable, while maintaining safe downstream flows.”

A graph (see No. 001) accompanying this story illustrates this, providing a clear view of the dilemma those on Seneca Lake are facing.

The New York Canal Corp. provided an email that says: “Central New York and the Finger Lakes region are saturated due to spring runoff and recent heavy precipitation. The Canal Corp. is managing high volumes of water with as little impact to communities across the region as possible.”

The email went on to make these points:

The Canal Corp. receives flows from across the Oswego River Basin.

The area’s rivers, lakes, and tributaries are at capacity. The entire basin drains north through the Oswego River, and water moves slowly due to a lack of elevation difference throughout the area (see No. 002).

We cannot pass any more water through the Oswego River — these are the largest flows experienced since April 2017.

New York State has experienced between 190% to 250% of its expected precipitation for the last 30 days. For example, the Syracuse Hancock International Airport recorded six inches of rain in March as compared to the normal amount of three inches that is anticipated for that time of year.

This extremely high precipitation, combined with the large amount of snow melt left over in some areas, has led to these high-water conditions in the Oswego River Basin.

The Canal Corp. is not the only water manager in the region.

A schematic illustration accompanying this story (see No. 003) shows these inter-linkages and outlines how the water flows through the system.

Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association President Bill Roege said that organization has paid close attention to the situation.

“Pure Waters has a Lake Level Committee that has been putting out information since the last [major] event in 2021,” Roege said. “We have been engaging with an effort to model Keuka Lake level response in the hope we can inject considerations for Seneca Lake that do not exist today. There is also a state effort to model the Oswego River Basin that we are actively monitoring.”

He added: “The bottom line is that flooding is caused by the terrain and the Barge Canal trying to change the terrain and water flow (see Nos. 004 and 005). Also contributing are land use practices in the watershed that speeds up the runoff. These same factors also cause the excess sediment and nutrient runoff that contribute to HABs. We will have more of these due to the increased heavy rain events caused by climate change. We will be paying the cost of climate change now and moving forward, so we need to be searching for how to build a resilient lakefront and control water runoff.

“The flood levels are set for damage from water level only. As we have seen time and time again, it is the winds on top of the high water that causes the damage (as is the case currently). The only way to limit damage is to build infrastructure that is resilient.”

According to SLPWA, there are three points in the system designed with flood control in mind: the Waterloo Dam (currently under repair) and lock; the Mud Lock complex; and Baldwinsville Dan/Lock E-24.

“Waterloo has limited through-put capacity relative to the volume of Seneca Lake,” Pure Waters says. “Everyone needs to understand we are a part of a larger system, and others are in the same plight. Actions to mitigate our damage could be catastrophic to others.”

Pure Waters indicates that when the Army Corps of Engineers built the gates on Keuka Lake, they made the determination that Keuka Lake doesn’t affect flooding downstream. Pure Waters has been trying to work with the Keuka Lake Outlet Compact, which is responsible for the gate operation, to include Seneca Lake considerations.

“Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.”

— Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Marine

Ed. note: Spencer Tulis is a Seneca Lake homeowner living in a cottage in the Yates County town of Benton for the last 20 years.

Finger Lakes Times reporter Tahlia Fischer contributed to this story.

© Finger Lakes Times