Ithaca Falls
The famous symbol of Ithaca! Towering over 100 feet tall, this massive waterfall was owned for many years by Cornell University. It was sold to the city of Ithaca in 2000 as part of an environmental cleanup. People from all around the area come here daily to look at this breathtaking natural gem. If you’re up for a challenge, you can also take a brief walk up to the falls. It is fast, relatively easy, and definitely worth it! Although the sound of the falling water and beautiful weather will attract swimmers, swimming is prohibited because of the dangerous and unpredictable undercurrents at the base of the waterfall.
Lake Source Cooling at Ithaca High School
The Lake Source Cooling facility on Ithaca High School’s campus is a small brick building at the back of the campus, near the bus stop on Lake Street. When Cornell University planned to install the Lake Source Cooling System, it made a promise to give back to the local community for using Cayuga Lake and running pipes through the city. This promise included providing Ithaca High School with Lake Source Cooling and a direct optic ethernet to the university. In addition, students tour the Lake Source Cooling facilities each year to learn more about what a carbon-free future might look like. Although installing the LSC system strained some relationships between the university and the community, it saves both Ithaca High School and Cornell University a lot of money and energy due to its innovative nature. The system began operation in the summer of 2000, and is the first major deep water cooling system installed in the United States.
Lake Source Cooling Heat Exchange Facility
Welcome to the Lake Source Cooling (LSC) Campus Heat Exchange facility! Look up and to the right of the Lake and you will spot it! This might just look like an ordinary lakeside building, but this building represents a huge leap in green technology. This facility began operation in the summer of 2000 and was the first major deepwater source cooling installed in the United States. Only a few deep water source cooling systems exist in the world. Constructing the LSC was a difficult task and required the City of Ithaca and Cornell University to work together. East Shore Park, across from the LSC Campus Heat Exchange Facility, was gifted to the City of Ithaca as part of their negotiations. Other negotiations include giving Ithaca High School Lake Source Cooling and Direct Optic Ethernet to Cornell University. The LSC system contains an open lake-water loop and a closed campus loop which work together to cool Cornell University and Ithaca High School. This location is where the water is drawn from Cayuga Lake for the open lake-water loop. The cool water pulled from the lake absorbs heat from the water in the closed campus loop. When the water is chilled, it is then sent back up to cool the campuses. The water from the two systems never mix. The system relies on a body of deep water, which in this case is made possible by Cayuga Lake. The LSC System uses about 80% less energy than conventional refrigeration, minimizing cost, and environmental impact. In addition, the system avoids using the refrigerants replacing chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s). On going research is being done to ensure the LSC system does not negatively impact aquatic ecosystems in Lake Cayuga by releasing sunken phosphorus from the lake sediment. Research reports may be found on the DEC website.
Cayuga Lake and Stewart Park
Stewart Park provides one of the best views of Cayuga Lake available! Enjoy the scenery from one of the park’s swinging benches. Cayuga lake offers natural beauty to the community while also being an extremely important asset to the water infrastructure in the area. Cayuga Lake is the longest of the 11 finger lakes located in Upstate New York. The lake got its name from the indigenous Cayuga people, translating to “People of the Great Swamp”. The ‘Great Swamp’ refers to the very land that you are standing on! Stewart Park used to be part of a large wetland complex at the southern shore of Cayuga Lake. The lake is very important to the local area since it is used for both recreational and domestic purposes. The lake acts as a source of water for the Lake Source Cooling System used by Cornell University and Ithaca High School, and drinking water for adjacent communities such as Lansing. It is also the effluent release sink for the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility. Without Cayuga Lake, water infrastructure in Ithaca would look drastically different. From Stewart Park, you can see the LSC Heat Exchange Facility and the Cayuga Heights Wastewater Treatment Facility on the lake’s east shore. Aside from the beautiful lake-shore view, the park includes a host of other activities for the community such as tennis courts, athletic fields, play structures, a bird sanctuary and a carousel. Stewart Park was originally owned by Cascadilla School before being developed into an amusement park and a film studio. Eventually, the city purchased the property and developed it into the park it is today. The shore along the park used to be a swimming beach; however, siltation from plowing and developing the surrounding area makes the lake unsuitable for swimming. The Ithaca Journal explains that the price we pay from the marsh’s absence is the “large amount of sediment in the water along” and “any attempt to restore sanctioned swimming at Stewart Park will have to be undertaken with the realization that we are battling a natural process”. More information about other forms of recreation can be found at the Friends of Stewart Park website.
Fall Creek Inlet at Cayuga Lake
The Fall Creek inlet at Cayuga Lake borders Stewart Park. Along the edge of the creek at the mouth of the inlet lie a couple of footbridges and a boathouse. Make use of these park features to enjoy the surrounding area. Fall Creek is one of Cornell’s most iconic rivers and contains many notable natural features such as Ithaca Falls, Beebe Lake, Triphammer Falls, and Horseshoe Falls. In addition, Fall Creek supports many of the area’s water infrastructure facilities. Fall Creek is Cornell’s source of water, and when the water levels are low, it directly impacts the campus and local ecosystem. In 2016, the Fall Creek drought caused campus residents to switch to paper plates to conserve water. Water infrastructure on the other end of the lake affects the water level of the inlet as well. In particular, the lake levels are regulated by the Cayuga -Seneca Canal. The Cayuga-Seneca Canal connects the Erie Canal to Cayuga Lake. This location highlights the relationship between natural beauty and water infrastructure. The main species of fish in this area of Fall Creek are the lake run rainbow trout, brown trout, Atlantic salmon and smallmouth bass. All species rely on unpolluted water and livable water levels which are both heavily affected by Ithaca’s decision-making surrounding water infrastructure.
Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
The Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility was founded in 1987 and serves the City of Ithaca, the Town of Ithaca, and parts of the Town of Dryden. Everyday the facility treats around 6.5 million gallons of wastewater. This is enough water to fill roughly 10 Olympic sized swimming pools. The facility does so through preliminary, primary, secondary and tertiary treatment. From the front gate you may see the secondary settling tanks on the left and the solids handling building on the right, adjacent to the main building. The IAWWTF is placed near Cayuga Lake because when the facility is done treating the effluents, it is diffused into Cayuga Lake through a half mile long pipe. Conveniently, this location also has the lowest elevation in the surrounding area, allowing the facility to utilize gravity to transport the water. While the facility’s low elevation helps save on energy costs, it does make the facility susceptible to flooding.One problem that many water treatment facilities have recently been faced with is its disposal of biosolids. Biosolids are the phosphorus and nitrogen rich sludge left after treatment. Many people advocate to use biosolids as fertilizers, but others are concerned with the ecological impacts of this due to heavy metals and recent emerging contaminants such as antibiotics. Despite this popular issues, IAWWTF excels in its usage of methanogenic bacteria. Methanogenic bacteria help to remediate the wastewater while producing methane, a biogas. This methane, stored in the large white bulbous tank, is then burned for energy. Burning methane allows the facility to cogenerate heat, cutting down on the facility’s energy costs.
Cascadilla Creek Inlet at Cayuga Lake
On your way to the Cascadilla Creek inlet to Cayuga Lake along the Cayuga Waterfront trail, the Route 13 Bridge will cross Cascadilla Creek. This is where a dredging project will begin in 2020 to increase flood resilience in Ithaca and remove large concrete blocks at the bottom of the creek. Afterwards, the waterfront trail will eventually lead to where Cascadilla Creek meets the larger Cayuga Inlet. This intersection is easily viewable from the boat dock at the end of the Ithaca Farmers Market building where the seasonal Ithaca Farmers Market happens on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Not many people would consider the Cayuga Inlet a piece of water infrastructure because of its natural look, but the inlet played an important role in connecting Ithaca with the outside world. This became possible when Cayuga Lake was connected to the Erie Canal in 1828. The inlet was transformed from a forested area to a highly populated area. The water quality suffered immensely due to this change. According to the Ithaca Times, lead and oil seeped into the water from the boatyards. Dredging projects continued to worsen the water quality and enable business to boom. Flooding was frequent, but explains how the Cayuga Inlet looks today. Eventually flooding put an end to the once booming waterfront business on the Cayuga Inlet. In 1935, a notorious flood began plans for a major flood control project. This project was eventually completed in 1970, after widening, straightening, and deepening the channel. Passenger services on the nearby railroad ended only slightly earlier in the 1960’s. Today, the inlet continues to suffer from heavy siltation, most likely a result of the inlet’s history of abuse. In addition, the western portion of Cascadilla Creek contributes to the inlet’s murkiness and impaired condition. Sediment-laden water comes from the developed parts of the creek. Still, the inlet is an important asset for the surrounding area, allowing access to the lake for facilities such as the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility and the Collyer Boathouse. The flow of the inlet will eventually hit the land near the lighthouse and push East before diffusing into the rest of the lake. On stormy days, sediment plumes hitting the lake can be seen from above. The WRI thanks you for coming on this tour! We hope you learned a lot about Ithaca’s water infrastructure. You can find more information on the Year of Water Campaign on the WRI website.
