This district sits on the shore of one of the greatest freshwater resources on the planet. Lake Ontario is not a backdrop. It's a drinking water source, an economic engine for fishing and tourism, a defining feature of life in Sodus Point, Fair Haven, and Williamson. And right now it's under pressure from multiple directions.

Lake Ontario experiences a combination of excess nutrients in nearshore areas and nutrient decline in open waters. Too much phosphorus in the nearshore causes excessive algae growth, while low levels offshore affect the entire food web. Phosphorus from fertilizers, detergents, and organic waste promotes algal blooms that deplete oxygen in the water and harm aquatic life. Stormwater runoff carries oil, grease, salt, and pollutants directly into waterways. Canada.caGreen Venture

We've seen what happens when this goes wrong. In 2014, a toxic algal bloom shut down the drinking water supply for half a million people in Toledo, Ohio — a Lake Erie community not very different from ours. That's not a distant cautionary tale. That's the direction we're heading if we ignore the warning signs.

Here's what I'll do:

I'll push for a dedicated state fund for agricultural runoff reduction in Lake Ontario shoreline counties. The phosphorus coming off farm fields is a major driver of nearshore algae problems, and we can address it through incentivized cover cropping, buffer zone programs, and smarter fertilizer timing — without putting farmers out of business. I'll bring farmers and environmentalists to the same table and find the middle ground.

I'll advocate for upgrades to municipal stormwater systems in Wayne County towns. When it rains hard in Sodus or Williamson, what runs off the streets goes somewhere. Right now in too many places, it goes straight to the lake.

I'll fight to keep the IJC accountable not just for water levels but for water quality, and I'll push for state investment in water quality monitoring infrastructure along the Wayne County shoreline so we catch problems early instead of after the damage is done.

And I'll make sure the state's Clean Water Infrastructure Act dollars actually reach rural counties like ours — because too often that money gets captured by larger municipalities with more lobbyists and better grant writers.