By JIM AUSTIN

Editor

The board of trustees approved the concept of a boat washing station for the village launch sites, and will now study the feasibility of establishing a program designed to prevent the accidental introduction of zebra mussels into Otsego Lake.

The vote on a motion from Dr. Theodore Peters came early in their regular meeting Monday after a presentation from representatives of the recently formed Otsego Lake Association, staff members from the Biological Field Station and interested lake residents.

The invasive, non-native zebra mussel was found living five miles away in Canadarago Lake late last month and triggered an elevated level of concern about the possibility of the mollusk finding its way from the neighboring lake to Otsego Lake.

Robert Einreinhofer, president of the Otsego Lake Association said his members have established goals that include the installation of boat washing stations on Otsego Lake and at the state-operated boat launch on Canadarago Lake and working to elevate public awareness of the impact zebra mussels could have on the lake.

Einreinhofer admitted that it would be impossible to guarantee 100 percent of the boats would be washed before launching. But at the same time, he stated that the more boats that were washed, the smaller the chance becomes that the mussel would be introduced.

Village mayor Carol Waller questioned if the boat washing stations would be doing little more than delaying the inevitable because sooner or later the mussel would be introduced the way it has been in so many other lakes and rivers.

"I don't want to jump ahead with two washing stations if we're just putting a finger in the dike," she said.

Money for a boat washing station was included in a state grant application submitted by Otsego Lake Watershed Manager Win McIntyre earlier.

That grant has been approved preliminarily and is currently winding its way through the final approval process. The money is not yet in hand, but the Otsego Lake Association will come up with the $8,500 anticipated from the grant to pay for two machines. Because it is a matching funds grant, there will need to be a local match which Einreinhofer wants the municipalities around the lake to pick up.

The village takes its municipal drinking water from the lake and faces potential costs which typically run as high was $25,000 a year to deal with problems related to the mussel in water systems.

The mussel also impacts the food chain in the lake and can cause headaches for boaters when it contaminates bilge and engine cooling water. The sharp shells of the mollusk which can build up on the bottom of the lake pose a potential danger to swimmers who can get cut.

Although capital expenses can be covered with grant funds, the trustees worried about how to pay for operations and maintainence expenses.

Tuesday morning, Waller said Peters was already meeting with treasurer Joan Crippen to look for money to pay the labor expenses related to the boat washing stations. Peters is also looking into other issues in the hopes of being able to put together a proposal to go before the trustees during a special meeting set for next Monday morning.

Waller said if the village approves a proposal, she believes it would only address the remainder of the boating season which would give the village and other municipalities around the lake a chance to formulate a plan of action to put in place in time for next summer.

"We are so fortunate to have the lake We have to do everything we possibly can," Waller said.