Cross Lake resident launches group to fight persistent flooding

For Cross Lake homeowners, the cost of high water has moved far beyond inconvenience. Dan Andrews said repeated flooding has damaged docks, left debris and trash along the shoreline, saturated ground around camp properties, and kept families from using waterfront property they still pay to maintain.

Andrews said this spring was especially severe. Water stretched nearly 700 feet beyond the normal shoreline beginning in mid-March and did not recede until last week, leaving a ring of muck and cleanup behind it. Homeowners around the lake have also described water in yards, basement flooding and mosquito infestations, all of which add to repair bills and weaken the appeal and long-term value of lakeside property.

Now Andrews is trying to turn that frustration into organized pressure. He said he is creating the Cross Lake Association, a new advocacy group focused narrowly on Cross Lake and the immediate surrounding area, rather than the broader footprint of CNY Waterways, the nonprofit he previously worked with. The goal is to bring residents together with lawmakers and other stakeholders to force answers on a flooding problem he says has been kicked down the road for years.

The political problem is that no single agency controls the lake. Cross Lake sits in the Oswego River Basin, a watershed that covers more than 5,000 square miles, and multiple agencies influence water flow. NYSDEC describes Cross Lake as essentially a widening of the Seneca River as it moves through the lower third of the lake, placing the waterway on the border of Cayuga and Onondaga counties between Jordan and Meridian.

That makes the state central to any long-term fix. Andrews said he may push for legislation that would place more responsibility with the state, since the canal system is state-controlled. The New York State Canal System has operated since 1825 and includes the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca canals. In April, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon closed all waterways in Onondaga County because of dangerously high water and debris, a reminder that the problem has already spilled beyond one shoreline.

CNY Waterways has been documenting flooding through MyCoast, using geotagged photos and observations to build a record for agencies and planners. The broader debate has also been shaped by the 2023 Upstate New York Flood Mitigation Task Force Report, which Andrews and other residents see as a roadmap that still needs action. For Cross Lake homeowners, the question is no longer whether flooding is a nuisance. It is who pays for it, who controls it and who will be held accountable when the water rises again.