Ithaca, NY (WHCU) – Walter Hang, President of Toxics Targeting, Inc., an environmental database firm, will hold a news event at 1:00 PM today at East Shore Park, located at 1000 E. Shore Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850, to release extensive government information and maps which document that 192 waterbodies reported Harmful Algal Blooms across New York in 2019.  This set a new statewide record for the largest number of waterbodies with reported Harmful Algal Blooms. 

A total of 103 Harmful Algal Blooms was reported in Cayuga Lake.  This was the most HABs identified in a single waterbody in the state. 

In 2019, Harmful Algal Blooms containing toxic microcystins polluted critical drinking water sources for more than 10 million New Yorkers, including more than 40,000 residents who drink water from Cayuga Lake and residents of Skaneateles, Syracuse, Auburn, Canandaigua, Watkins Glen, Geneva, Rochester and New York City.