“Congressman, we did it,” Chagnon said as he embraced Langworthy.

It was the conclusion of a six-year effort to get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do a $3 million study on what should be done to restore the aquatic ecosystem of Chautauqua Lake and its watershed.

On Monday, Chagnon, Langworthy, County Executive PJ Wendel, and U.S. Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh Commander Col. Nicholas Melin formally signed the agreement with Chautauqua Lake in the background.

Melin discussed the purpose of the study.

OBSERVER Photos by Gregory Bacon County Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, right, speaks at the signing ceremony regarding the Chautauqua Lake Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study. Seated, from left, are County Executive PJ Wendel, Rep. Nick Langworthy, and Col. Nicholas Melin with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“It will be about developing a solution to keep Chautauqua Lake beautiful and usable for the people of this region for decades to come,” he said.

Melin said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is brought in to “solve hard engineering problems.” Those can range from anything from responding to hurricanes, to building bridges, to managing lakes and waterways.

Melin said their goal of the Chautauqua Lake study is to “deliver a prescription for keeping this lake vital and beautiful and usable.”

Melin said this study will be their office’s number one priority. The results will offer a solution for what should be done to improve the lake and what the cost will be.

He added that the solutions from this study will be applied not only to Chautauqua Lake, but can help other lakes in the country.

From left: Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, County Executive PJ Wendel, Rep. Nick Langworthy, and Col. Nicholas Melin with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hold signed documents to initiate the Chautauqua Lake Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study. The four are standing in front of the lighthouse in Mayville on Chautauqua Lake.

“The Chautauqua Lake study will really be a pacesetter because the challenges that Chautauqua is facing are faced by a number of other lakes, not just in New York, but also Pennsylvania and Ohio,” Melin said.

Langworthy said growing up he was at Chautauqua Lake every summer. Today, he notes with the algal blooms, invasive species, sediment and more, the lake’s health is challenged.

“These issues have impacted tourism. They’ve hurt our local businesses and threatened the lake’s future,” he said.

Langworthy was able to secure $500,000 from the federal government to help make this study a reality.

“This study will give us answers to identify what we need to do to get Chautauqua Lake back on track,” he said.

Chagnon, nicknamed “Mr. Chautauqua Lake” at the ceremony, thanked Langworthy as well as U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer for working together to make this partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers a reality.

In 2018, Chagnon noted that Congress passed and the president signed an authorization for this project’s study. Since then they’ve been pursuing the federal funding required to initiate the study, which finally came through this year.

The federal government did not permit the county to fund the study on its own and would only release the money once the Army Corps of Engineers was ready to move forward.

County Executive PJ Wendel shared how the lake has been a priority of his since taking office. He noted how the county has been working with Chautauqua Institution and the Jefferson Project to tackle the algal blooms problem.

Wendel said Gov. Kathy Hochul has committed to spending $15 million to complete the Jefferson Project study. The research from that will be shared with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in this new three-year study.

Even though the study is expected to take three years, Melin said the work that’s being done through the Jefferson Project may be able to shorten that timeline.

Melin said work has already begun and will continue throughout the winter months.