Upland Water Retention Basin, a Grassed Waterway, and a Water & Sediment Control Basin in the Town of Geneva

With funding from the Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance (FLLOWPA), the Ontario County SWCD was able to help a farmer in the Seneca Lake Watershed install two 1/4 acre upland water retention basins on agricultural lands along Reed Road in the Town of Geneva, along with a grassed waterway downslope of the basins to convey additional water off the property. The basins collect upslope storm water and allow this water to exit the cropland in a non-erosive manner over several hours following a storm event rather than all at once. These projects help protect downslope agricultural land and public infrastructure while reducing erosion caused by stormwater runoff. Ontario County SWCD staff oversaw the design, construction, and implementation, and secured the necessary permits. In 2023, the District used Great Lakes
Commission Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program (SNRP) funding, matched with Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) technical time, to install a quarter acre farmable water and sediment control basin in the Town of Geneva. This project was the first project
completed in the Seneca Lake Watershed as part of our Finger Lakes Phosphorus Reduction
Project. This project was installed to address a short run of severe gully erosion and has a sediment load reduction of 13 tons of soil
saved per year. The project is strategically installed on contoured headlands and all cropland acres remain in production.