industrial modem, and power supply installed at the Penn Yan Water Treatment Plant Pump House. The project was completed in cooperation with Cornell University computer staff Andrew Heath and Sutron engineers, along with former Public Works Director Ed Balsley and his staff from the Village of Penn Yan. How does the system work? Water level is recorded on a chart recorder from pressure readings sent from a water level bubbler in the lake and a voltage signal is simultaneously sent to a “loop isolator” to a Sutron datalogger. Data is logged every minute and then “called up” every two hours by a computer modem in the Cornell Cooperative Extension office in Penn Yan. The data are then downloaded, averaged, converted from a voltage reading to a lake level height and then charted on a new graph and uploaded to a server every 2 hours where it is then accessible through the KLA website. The KLA generously provided funding for the equipment and continues support for the monthly costs of the data acquisition.
How do I read the lake level chart?
The lake level chart illustrates the current and previous lake levels in Feet Above Sea Level relative to the recommended Guide Curves (blue lines) throughout an entire year.
The numbers on the left side (Y axis) of the chart indicate the level of the lake above sea level in feet (a known benchmark). The dates on the bottom of the chart (X axis) are used to show the time of year.
The Blue Lines illustrate the recommended high and low guide levels for the lake for the entire year, ranging from 712 feet above sea level in the fall/early winter to 714.3 feet above sea level in the summer. Daily lake levels are managed and should fall between the two lines (weather permitting!).
The thin Black Line represents the previous year lake level record and the RED Line shows the current year lake level.
A time-stamped lake level is shown in the bottom left of the chart indicating the time and elevation in feet of the last recorded data point. The charted levels (Red and Black lines) average 24 samples every two hours. The time-stamped value and the charted line may be different from each other due to wave action or other factors. In general, the red line will be the most reliable representation of the lake level as it averages many data points over time.
