Otisco Lake is the easternmost of New York's eleven

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...

. The lake is located in

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives from ...

, southwest of the city of Syracuse.

History

Otisco Lake's name may have been derived from the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

name for the lake's outlet, Nine Mile Creek, ''Us-te-ke'', meaning " bitter-nut-hickory". At least one older map, published in 1825, has the name spelled as "Ostisco". The name may also have been derived from the word ''ostickney'', meaning "waters much dried away", or from the Onondaga word ''ostick'', meaning "the water is low". Prior to European settlement, the lake was used by the Onondaga people for seasonal fishing and hunting, however no permanent settlements were known to exist. After the Revolutionary War, lands surrounding Otisco Lake were given to soldiers as payment for their service in the war. The first house was erected near the head of Otisco Lake by Oliver Tuttle in 1804, in what is today the Town of Otisco. In 1869, Otisco Lake was made larger with the construction of a dam near the lake's outlet, which enabled the lake to be used as a reservoir for the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

. The dam's construction raised lake levels by , and flooded a road at the southern end of the lake. To re-build the road, a causeway was built out of hemlock logs. The causeway was damaged by storms and allowed to deteriorate before being reconstructed in 1983. Otisco Lake has been used as a source for public drinking water for residents in the southern and western half of

since 1908. In 1909, lake levels were increased by an additional when the dam was raised to increase the lake's capacity. Today, the lake's use as a public water supply is managed by the Onondaga County Water Authority. In 2011, Otisco Lake provided of water per day.

Description

Otisco Lake is approximately long and wide at its widest point. The lake has an average depth of and reaches a maximum depth of . It has a surface area of and can hold of water. The lake's outflow enters first

Onondaga Lake Onondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York, immediately northwest of and adjacent to Syracuse, New York. The southeastern end of the lake and the southwestern shore abut industrial areas and expressways; the northeastern shore and northwestern e ...

via Ninemile Creek and then

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

via the

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

and Oswego rivers. Otisco Lake is located entirely within Onondaga County and is bordered by the towns of Marcellus, Otisco, and Spafford. Its watershed covers of primarily rural land. Forty-two percent of the watershed is agricultural, 33% is forested and 9% is shrubland. Wetlands and open water account for approximately 13% of the watershed. Nearly half of the homes within the lake's watershed are located on or near the lake's shore. According to the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...

, Otisco Lake is affected by nonpoint source pollution from agriculture, residential land use and streambank erosion. Pollution from these sources includes pesticides and fertilizers, sedimentation from erosion and poor tillage practices, and runoff from septic systems, lawns and construction sites. Currently the lake is experiencing severe problems brought on by

zebra mussels The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in ma ...

which were introduced to the lake water via boaters.

Recreation

Closest of the Finger Lakes to the City of Syracuse, the lake is a popular recreational destination in the summer. On the first day of bass season, usually around the end of the second week in June, an annual fishing derby is held. A county park and a public boat launch are available for public use, and two private boat launches are located along the southeastern portion of the lake.

References

External links

Onondaga County Parks: Otisco Lake ParkOnondaga County Water Authority
{{authority control Finger Lakes Lakes of Onondaga County, New York Tourist attractions in Onondaga County, New York Lakes of New York (state) Reservoirs in New York (state) Reservoirs in Onondaga County, New York