New threats bring call for fresh look at Adirondack lakes
By Ry Rivard
July 28, 2020
How will cold-water fish, like trout, survive in warmer waters? Are warmer or saltier waters causing lakes to shut down? Why do lakes seem to get browner?
Ry Rivard
Ry covers water for the Explorer. Before coming to New York, he reported on water and energy for Voice of San Diego.
He can be reached at [email protected].
State poised to study Park’s salt problems
By Ry Rivard
July 23, 2020
In the state's first serious attempt at reining in the 300 million pounds of road salt dumped each year in the Adirondack Park, state lawmakers this week approved a bill to study how much damage salt is doing in the region, particularly to drinking water supplies.
Banks look to protect Lake George water
By Ry Rivard
July 8, 2020
About 6,000 homes and businesses around the lake rely on septic systems. About 4,000 of those systems are at risk of contaminating the lake because they are old or neglected.
Flooding risk greater than estimates have shown
By Ry Rivard
July 1, 2020
Editor’s Note: This was originally published Tuesday as the Water Line newsletter. Sign up here to follow the reporting of Water Reporter Ry Rivard and to receive other Adirondack Explorer newsletters. By Ry RivardNew national maps suggest flood risk is far higher than most people realize, in New York and across the country. In some…
Test finds elevated salt in Saranac Lake well water
By Ry Rivard
June 12, 2020
The sodium levels are both mysterious and remarkable, given the region’s reputation for and economic reliance on pristine water.
Lake Champlain’s back door for invasive species
By Ry Rivard
June 3, 2020
The builders of the 19th century gave little thought to the bad things that happen when fish and plants move through canals and end up in places they don’t belong.
Reversing acid rain’s dirty work
By Ry Rivard
May 11, 2020
Coal’s future aside, the recent past has been good news: Thanks to existing regulations, rain is far less acidic than it used to be.
Salt in the wounds: The uphill struggle against road pollution
By Ry Rivard
April 30, 2020
An Adirondack Explorer investigation found that across upstate New York, road salt has seeped into drinking water supplies, poisoned wells, endangered public health and threatened people with financial ruin. But state officials have largely escaped accountability for the resulting pollution.
Earth Day thoughts on the work that remains to protect park waters
By Ry Rivard
April 22, 2020
Our tap water is so much safer, thanks to the Safe Drinking Water Act, another product of 1970s environmental consciousness, but regulators have done a poor job of keeping up with many emerging threats, including carcinogens, that remain in American drinking water.
State stocks trout as planned, to aid ‘mind and body’
By Ry Rivard
March 25, 2020
If a parking lot is packed, go somewhere else, and, if anglers are sharing a boat, they should stay 6 feet away from each other.