Cooperstown may test its drinking water this year for traces of herbicides and pesticides in response to a presentation at a village board meeting Tuesday night.
The village draws its water from Otsego Lake.
At the meeting, Michael Whaling of Sharon Springs told trustees and Mayor Carol Waller that pesticides and herbicides sprayed on the Leatherstocking Golf Course might be making their way into the lake.
The picturesque golf course, operated by the Otesaga Hotel, borders the nine-mile-long lake, which is the source of the Susquehanna River.
Tests on the drinking water performed in spring 2006 did not detect the volatile organic compounds associated with these poisons, but Whaling said spring is not the right time to test.
"You get a much more reliable reading in the summer,'' he said, as the water levels are more constant.
Whaling told officials he had obtained information from the state Department of Environmental Conservation that 2,517 pounds of herbicides were used on the golf course in 2007, up from about 1,600 pounds in 2006.
On Wednesday morning, Whaling said that during the same time frame, the golf course cut back on its use of liquid herbicides from 137.1 gallons to 104 gallons.
``Overall, though, there was a net increase and there really isn't a good reason for it, not when you consider the potential for human health,'' he said.
Also Wednesday, Waller said the board planned to test its water in 2009 but may do so this summer if the cost is not excessive.
According to Brian Clancy, the village's Department of Public Works superintendent, the village's last water test cost about $1,900. Clancy said he was investigating how much a test would cost this year.
Waller said she has been assured by consultant Ted Peters that the village's water is safe, and John Irvin, the Otesaga's general manager, said every precaution is taken to make sure pesticides and herbicides do not contaminate the lake.
``Only two certified sprayers work on the golf course, and they know what they're doing,'' he said.
The use of chemicals varies from year to year, depending on which pests are invading the turf, Irvin said.
"This year, we had to contend with tent caterpillars. Other years, it's something else,'' he said.
Waller noted that the golf course has a policy on not spraying within 25 feet of the lake shore.
Also speaking at Tuesday's meeting was Adrian Kuzminski of Fly Creek, who asked board members to consider a ban on pesticides and herbicides within the village.
``I think the village should operate on the precautionary principle,'' he said Wednesday. ``If we're spraying poisons because we don't want to look at dandelions, but at the same time we're possibly endangering people's health, that really doesn't make sense.''
Waller said the board will take up the issue at a later meeting.
