Sometimes I let too much time go by between my visits to the shores of Onondaga Lake or the winding creek that feeds it. My view, you see, is that the body of water smack dab in the middle of New York State has lots going for it. Reputation be damned.

My fellow Syracusans know the history. Here’s a short primer for the rest of the world:

For too many decades, a big chemical plant used the waters of Onondaga Lake as its toilet. Many dangerous things were dumped. The water was poisoned. The company went belly up in the ’80s, but the damage had been badly done by then.

A cleanup was ordered. Studies were done. The Army Corps of Engineers offered a plan. Another big company was hired to pump stuff back out of the lake. The budget is a cool $1 billion. People who lived in neighborhoods…