Livingston County (“County”), in partnership with the Conesus Lake Watershed Council (“CLWC”), is seeking proposals for consultant services to complete an update to the 2003 Conesus Lake Watershed Management Plan. The updated plan shall include an update to water quality and environmental issues and include new technological approaches to water quality improvement. This Request for Proposals (“RFP”) was prepared with funding provided by the New York State Department of State under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund. The County received an $80,000.00 grant ($60,000.00 State/$20,000.00 County match).

New water quality and environmental issues shall be incorporated into the updated plan. This plan will contain a review of local land use regulations in the watershed and recommendations of green infrastructure practices that can be incorporated into land use regulations focusing on water quality protection in the Lake and its tributaries. Technical assistance will be provided by the CLWC Technical Committee, which is comprised of several State, regional, and local agency representatives.

The Watershed Management Plan is focused on Conesus Lake and its tributaries. The Conesus Lake watershed is approximately 70 square miles, or 41,300 acres, and encompasses more than 18 streams that flow into the Lake. Of these, the three largest streams are North and South McMillan Creeks and Conesus Inlet. Municipalities partially within the watershed boundary include the Towns of Conesus, Geneseo, Groveland, Livonia, Sparta, and Springwater and the Village of Livonia. The Villages of Avon and Geneseo use Conesus Lake as a drinking water source for over 20,000 residents and visitors.

The overarching goal of the Watershed Management Plan update is to continue to protect the water quality of Conesus Lake. At the State level, the Conesus Lake Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Action Plan and the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Conesus Lake have been developed and will be used in collaboration with this Conesus Lake Watershed Plan update. This project advances the collaborative efforts of the intermunicipal partnerships to resolve shared issues with the involvement of the CLWC for over twenty (20) years of water quality improvement program and project implementation. This update also advances the plan into the next phase of addressing new water quality and environmental issues and new technological strategies, including green infrastructure strategies in land use development. The awarded Consultant will need to be knowledgeable regarding zoning, subdivision/land development regulations, green infrastructure in land use planning, and comprehensive plans.

Current concerns in the watershed include HABs, nutrient loading, stormwater runoff, invasive species, and resiliency to flooding and storm events.

The project will build upon previous efforts in watershed planning including:

• State of Conesus Lake, Watershed Characterization Report, May 2002
• Conesus Lake Watershed Management Plan, March 2003
• Conesus Lake Watershed Management Plan Executive Summary, 2003
• State of the Lake, Conesus Lake Watershed Characterization Report, Ten Year Update, May 2013

• Conesus Lake HABs Action Plan, 2018
• Wilkins Creek Subwatershed Stormwater Study Report, 2018, by Barton & Loguidice
• TMDL for Conesus Lake, 2019
• Streambank Remediation Study, 2007, by Stantec Consulting Services Inc.
• SUNY Brockport/SUNY Geneseo Lake Monitoring Reports & Lake Studies from 1986 - 2023

The awarded Consultant will need to be familiar with the above-mentioned watershed plans, as well as, municipal comprehensive plans, and pertinent land use regulations/zoning for the watershed municipalities.

The documents mentioned above, and other Conesus Lake resource documents, are available from the Livingston County Planning Department website at: https://www.livingstoncounty.us/780/Reports-Publications-Educational-Resourc