Prepared by Joseph C. Makarewicz and Matthew J. NowakThe College at Brockport, State University of New YorkJanuary 2010

Sandy Pond Oswego County, New York

Located on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, Sandy Pond is separated by a barrier beach and

sand dune from Lake Ontario. The Sandy Pond complex consists of two ponds: North Sandy Pond (about 2 mi wide and 4 mi long) and the smaller South Sandy Pond. Within the direct drainage area of Sandy Pond is a 76-acre New York State conservation area. It lies at the north end of a spit of land dividing North Sandy Pond from Lake Ontario and is about 2 miles north of Sandy Island Beach State Park. On the northern-most tip of this area, there is a bird sanctuary that hosts large numbers of shorebirds dur-ing migration; the Natural Area is part of the Eastern Lake Ontario Marshes Bird Conservation Area that also includes Deer Creek Marsh, Lakeview, and Black Pond Wildlife Manage-ment Areas. Sandy Pond supports significant tourism and recreation and provides important habitat for nesting birds and waterfowl. Agri-cultural runoff, septic system failures, and “gray water” discharge have lead to the cultural eutrophication of the pond. Within North Sandy Pond, nui-sance algae and macrophytes impact boating and swimming.

Map of Lake Ontario. Insert: Sandy Pond, New York

Sandy Pond, New York

Agricultural runoff, septic system failures, and “gray water” discharge have lead to the cultural eutrophication of the pond.

Figure 1. Average (+S.E) sum-mer total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, chloro-phyll a, phycocyanin, total suspended solids, nitrate, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen concen-trations at the lakeside of Lake Ontario near Sandy Pond and at sandy Pond. Surface water samples were taken monthly (May-September) at a 1-meter depth.