Clean Up Underway at Kershaw Beach
By: Ashley Zilka
Updated: November 2, 2012
Clean up is underway at Kershaw Beach in Canandaigua.
Thanks to black "tar balls," summer ended too soon for beach goers at Kershaw Beach.
Patrick Colacino owns a cafe near the contaminated water. The early shutdown left an impact on his business.
"It was still a nice summer. People around here are great, but I definitely could tell mid-afternoon we would have people coming down from the beach, just wasn't there anymore," said Patrick Colacino, Muar House Cafe Owner.
A damper on summer fun for families.
"My wife and I have two children and we were going down to the beach three to four times a week and then that came to a grinding halt, and we really didn't understand why," said Gregory Stoyles.
The beach was closed in July when the tar-like goo was found in the water. Now, blue inflatable tubes are helping crews fix the problem.
"They fill them up with water and then once they are filled, they will pump out the water from there, therefore making it a dry area, so they can actually get into the lake and remove material," said Bryan White, Assistant City Manager.
The black goo is believed to be oil from cars from 80 years ago, but crews are discovering much more.
"A lot of it is construction debris, bricks, sand, wood things of that nature," said White.
Business owners and locals admit they don't know much about the goo, but they are happy that a new beach is on its way.
"Any kind of improvement to the local area is always great. We have lived many places and this is really a unique place," said Richard Cuttle.
"I hope they get it done because it really makes a difference on the lakeside here; Northside of the lake," said Maur.
Crews say the clean up will take about a month. You can expect a brand new beach come Memorial Day.
Thanks to black "tar balls," summer ended too soon for beach goers at Kershaw Beach.
Patrick Colacino owns a cafe near the contaminated water. The early shutdown left an impact on his business.
"It was still a nice summer. People around here are great, but I definitely could tell mid-afternoon we would have people coming down from the beach, just wasn't there anymore," said Patrick Colacino, Muar House Cafe Owner.
A damper on summer fun for families.
"My wife and I have two children and we were going down to the beach three to four times a week and then that came to a grinding halt, and we really didn't understand why," said Gregory Stoyles.
The beach was closed in July when the tar-like goo was found in the water. Now, blue inflatable tubes are helping crews fix the problem.
"They fill them up with water and then once they are filled, they will pump out the water from there, therefore making it a dry area, so they can actually get into the lake and remove material," said Bryan White, Assistant City Manager.
The black goo is believed to be oil from cars from 80 years ago, but crews are discovering much more.
"A lot of it is construction debris, bricks, sand, wood things of that nature," said White.
Business owners and locals admit they don't know much about the goo, but they are happy that a new beach is on its way.
"Any kind of improvement to the local area is always great. We have lived many places and this is really a unique place," said Richard Cuttle.
"I hope they get it done because it really makes a difference on the lakeside here; Northside of the lake," said Maur.
Crews say the clean up will take about a month. You can expect a brand new beach come Memorial Day.
