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Landscaping and
Lake Water Quality

Whether you live on Tuscarora or Eatonbrook Lake or within one of the lake’s watersheds (the land area that drains into a lake), water or snow that falls on your property affects the lake’s water quality. Unless this precipitation evaporates or is soaked up by plants, it eventually reaches the lake, bringing with it pet and livestock waste, septic system leakage, fertilizers and chemicals from the yard, road salt, rubber dust from tires, silt and sediment. When land leading down to a lake (or to streams that feed a lake) is covered with lawn grass or hard surfaces like wood or asphalt, these dissolved pollutants wash into the lake nearly unimpeded.

But good landscaping techniques and the right plants can help! Native plants, especially trees and woody shrubs have deeper, denser root systems than lawn grasses. These plants soak up excess storm-water and filter out pollutants, ensuring water leaving your property is as pure as possible before entering the lake. For our lakes this means less algae, fewer noxious weeds and invasive species, safer waters for swimming and boating, and better conditions for native fish.

The bottom line is you don’t have to be a horticultural whiz, a large property owner, or even a lakeside resident to help our lakes. The addition of just a few shrubs, trees, or even perennials will reduce the proportion of hard, less pervious surfaces (like lawns) and, therefore, the amount of polluted water entering the lake. And, a side benefit of less lawn is fewer geese!

Some Landscaping Suggestions

  • Low shrub buffer near water’s edge
  • Flowering plants and ground covers bordering house
  • Rain barrel to collect run-off from roof
  • Inclusion of hardwood trees which have deeper roots than most evergreens
  • Meandering paths of stones (or a pervious system) on inclines instead of a straight path of an impervious material (like concrete)
  • Live fascines or “wattles” (bundles of dormant cuttings from species like dogwood or willow that root easily and help stabilize banks)
  • Rain gardens to replace part of lawn

Before

Lawn is the major component of the yard, providing little protection to the lake.

After

By landscaping this property with water quality in mind, the yard has more aesthetic character and contributes less storm pollution to the lake.

 

Some Plant Suggestions

All of these are native species that grow in our climate. For a more comprehensive list, see “Landscaping for Water Quality in the Finger Lakes region” by Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Onondaga County. At: www.cce.cornell.edu/onondaga

Botanical Name Common Name Height Growth Rate Notes
Trees        
Fraxinus nigra Black ash 40-60   Moist to wet soil, tolerates poor drainage; sun. Yellow fall color, good streamside plantings
Prunus serotina Black cherry 60-70 medium-fast Moist to dry soil; sun. White flowers, red berries, yellow/red fall color
Quercus bicolor Swamp white oak 50-60 medium Moist to wet soil; tolerates drought and flooding; sun. Grows well in compacted soils.
Salix lucida Shining willow 15-20 fast Moist to wet soil; sun to partial shade. Native along streams and wet meadows.
Amelanchier canadensis Shadbush, serviceberry 15-30   Wet to moist soil; tolerates drought; sun to shade. White flowers, dark purple fruit
Shrubs        
Alnus serrulata Smooth alder 8-14   Moist soil; tolerates poor drainage.
Physocarpus opulifolius Eastern ninebark 8-14 fast Dry to moist soil, partial shade. White flowers, red fruits, yellow fall color. Bank cover/erosion control.
Cornus amomum Silky dogwood 6-10 fast Moist to wet soil; partial shade. Yellow/white flowers, bluish fruit. Bank cover/erosion control.
Cornus sericea Red-osier dogwood 4-8 fast Moist to wet soil; tolerates poor drainage and wide range soil conditions; sun. White flowers, red twigs, purple fall color. Bank cover/erosion control.
Rhus aromatica Fragrant sumac 2-8 fast Dry soil; sun. Fragrant, mounded shrub. Orange/red/purple leaves in fall. Bank cover/erosion control.
Aronia arbutifolia Red chokecherry 6-10 fast Wet soil; tolerates poor drainage, dry soil; sun or partial shade. Vase-shaped shrub. Red fruit, red fall color. Erosion control.
Lindera benzoin Spice Bush 6-12 slow Moist soil, sun to partial shade, tolerates dry soil. Red fruits loved by birds, lemon yellow fall color, very fragrant.
Amelanchier stolonifera Running serviceberry 4-6 medium Moist to dry soil, sun, partial shade; thicket-forming. White flowers, sweet purple fruit, red fall color. Bank cover.
Spirea alba White Meadowsweet 2-6   Moist to wet soil, but tolerates dry; sun. White flowers; yellow fall color, compact shape.
Juniperus horizontalis Creeping juniper 0.5-1.5   Dry soil; sun. Low growing, mat-forming evergreen. Bank cover/erosion control.