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Since that time, local efforts to combat this public health emergency have been seemingly never-ending. They have included years of work by a veritable task force of scientists, environmentalists and elected officials that resulted in a 2020 agreement to pursue a major update to the rules and regulations governing the lake's watershed, which has not happened since 1984.

For its part, New York state came through with $2 million in the 2017-18 state budget to help upgrade filtration systems in Auburn and Owasco to keep the toxins out of their water supplies.

Other than that, however, the state has largely washed its hands of the issue — namely, by failing to support a local push to update the watershed rules and regulations.

That lack of support came to a head in 2023, when the state Department of Health finally responded with its own proposed updates and omitted several related to nutrient management and pollutants.

Months later, Auburn, Owasco and the Owasco Watershed Lake Association filed a lawsuit in order to force the state to act. 

As the lawsuit played out in court last year, the state went a step further by saying it wouldn't update the rules and regulations at all. 

But the latest chapter in this saga provided Owasco Lake advocates with good news. A state Supreme Court judge ruled last week that the state indeed should intervene when it comes to managing nutrient runoff into the lake despite the Department of Health's contention that such action is "not necessary to ensure potable water quality."

It has been a long struggle, and it's far from over, but it's a positive step that the court said the state can and should take responsibility for enforcing stricter environmental regulations.

Time and time again, data has shown that the biggest factor in the degradation of Owasco Lake — our drinking water — is nutrient runoff. It's well past time for the state to do something about it.