2007 David Morehouse Memorial Award

Desch Receives 5th Annual Morehouse Award

Treating wastewater is something most people would rather not think about. Thankfully, there are others who understand that cleaning wastewater is critical to the health of Cayuga Lake and the vitality of local communities. The 2007 David Morehouse Award recognizes the role of Noel Desch in the establishment and evolution of the Ithaca Area Waste Water Treatment

“Noel Desch has devoted his entire adult life to improving the quality of his community, with special devotion to the difficult, complex, costly, but critical need for improved treatment of waste water throughout the southern end of Cayuga Lake. More then any other, his key and often crucial role as a public official, volunteer, and community leader has guided our communities to the quality treatment we have and will continue to appreciate for decades,” noted the nomination submitted by Bill Shaw, previous City of Ithaca Mayor.

Desch served on the Town of Ithaca Planning and Town Boards before being elected Supervisor (1978 - 1987). In these roles, Desch championed an intermunicipal solution to wastewater concerns in the more urbanized areas of Tompkins County. He was active with analysis, proposal preparation and building community support. Though tireless effort, Desch was instrumental in securing the State and Federal funds needed to bring the state-of-the-art Ithaca Area Waste Water Treatment Facility to fruition. As a consequence, Ithaca has had the benefit of an advanced wastewater treatment decades before many other similar communities. The 10 million gallon per day capacity provided sufficient treatment for twenty years despite the growing population and demands on the system.

More recently Desch was invited by the Town of Ithaca and the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce to join a team wrestling with concerns for waste water treatment for the communities in Lansing (Town and Village), Dryden (Town), Cayuga Heights and Ithaca (Town and City). This “group of six” met regularly for years. Desch served as its’ Secretary and steady hand providing engineering, public policy, financial and planning considerations needed to utilize existing facilities in the City and the Village of Cayuga Heights. That multi-year effort secured $25 million dollars from the State Bond Act for upgrades to the overloaded Cayuga Heights wastewater treatment plant and expanded capacity to 13.5 million gallons per day for the Ithaca Area Waste Water Treatment Facility. After the upgrades, both plants will release to the lake less phosphorus, a nutrient that feeds the growth of aquatic weeds and algae. Funds are also allocated to improve the infrastructure that transports waste water to take advantage of the Ithaca plant’s excess capacity. It is projected that the improvements will meet the needs of the community until 2023.

The award is given in memory of David Morehouse who exemplified dedication and leadership. Throughout his life he worked to protect Cayuga Lake including serving as a founding member of the two organizations that sponsor this award, the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and the Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization.

Shaw noted, “It is hard to calculate the impact of any one person on these collective community projects. However, Noel Desch’s skill, knowledge, respected judgment and opinions, and his sustained leadership for nearly forty years makes him a singular candidate for recognition by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network with its’ annual Morehouse Award.”

The criteria for this award are:

• A minimum of five years of actively working to restore and protecte the water resources of the Cayuga Lake Watershed.
• Leadership in an endeavor that has lasting benefit.

A nominee may be an individual, group or business and it is not necessary for the nominee to live in the watershed. The award is announced each year in August at the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network’s Annual meeting, known as Lakefest.