Stimulus Funds Used to Track Pollution in Lake Ontario ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) - Federal stimulus funds could eventually help Rochester's beaches stay open longer.

Over $250,000 will go toward a study into the origins of phosphorus in the tributaries that feed Lake Ontario. The chemical element can cause algae blooms which close the beaches about half of the time each year.

George Thomas is executive director with the group Center for Environmental Information, which will be collecting data for the Great Lakes Commission.
He says the center will try to pinpoint the biggest culprits behind the excess of phosphorus. These are most likely agricultural operations.

Once the sources are located, the center will develop a plan to reduce the amount and determine where money and time should go to fix the problems. Thomas says there are already some best-practices that could be employed by farmers to help mitigate the problem.

His group won't implement any projects, but will recommend solutions to the Great Lakes Commission

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