The southern shelf of Cayuga Lake is polluted. It has been polluted for decades.
Swimming has been forbidden at Stewart Park since 1962, when a child drowned because he could not be found when he went under in the silt-laden water. The Cornell Lake Source Cooling project has been in operation since 2000. Local environmentalists have identified the LSC project as a significant contributor to the pollution of the south end of Cayuga Lake, and they want the project either shut down or modified to eliminate or ameliorate its purported effects.