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Date: 1/11/2023
LUDLOW – The Pond Committee met with the Board of Selectmen on Jan. 3 to discuss the feedback they received based on a recent pond treatment survey.
The pond committee asked the board in March 2022 for the funds to have the ponds in town surveyed for different concerns including water quality, sustainability, mill weed, lily pad and algae infestations.
Pond Committee member Judy Breault said that Water and Wetland conducted a survey of five ponds in August 2022.
Water and Wetland is a local company whose goal is to provide unique individual attention to each waterbody they are hired to work on.
The ponds surveyed included Haviland Pond, Minechoag Pond, Alden Pond, Murphy Pond and Harris Pond.
Water and Wetland Management produced a 27 page report that the committee condensed to present the most important information.
Breault said, “Overall the water quality of the five ponds is good. They all fall within the right range.”
She added, “The good news is that out of the five ponds, only two of the ponds have invasive species and are definitely plant invasive species.”
Those two ponds affected by invasive species were Alden and Harris ponds.
According to Breault, Alden Pond is at a lower level of invasive species because “it is a milfoil weed that Is surrounding the outside and is manageable enough to do some hand pulling. The only problem though is if you don’t treat it, it will continue to grow.”
The Pond Committee would work with Water and Wetland Management to figure out when and how to pull the weeds out with the help of volunteers.
Breault said, “You can hand pull some this stuff to control it and then provide a chemical treatment to it that can last two to three years.”
The bigger concern for the Pond Committee is Harris Pond.
“This is a little but more involved.” Breault added. “This is a water chestnut invasive species and because of the density of the vegetation in that pond is choking out the entire pond.”
There are also other problems with Harris Pond including other weeds and a low water level.
“The water level is very low which causes the sunlight to get through easier allowing the water chestnut to continue to grow. There has been an issue with that dam for at least the 30 years I have been here. That is something we need to look at,” Breault said.
The Pond Committee said their next step is to figure out how to control the water chestnut, which is contributing to the algae, from growing.
The survey from Water and Wetland Management reported no invasive species for Haviland, Murphy and Minechoag Pond, but still presented a couple minor concerns that could be tended to.
Even though Haviland Pond presented no invasive species, the density of the vegetation is something that could be looked at.
“When you hear about people taking out kayaks or rowboats, they are getting stuck in this grassy pond weed. A lot of this could be because of the inactivity during [COVID-19]. The ways we could treat this pond is either do spot treatments on certain areas or an entire pond application,” Breault said.
Murphy Pond has no invasive species but in the middle of the summer looks like “one solid lily pad” according to the Pond Committee.
The Water and Wetland Management said that if something is not done to fix the situation it will start affecting the oxygen level of the pond.
Minechoag Pond also presented a dense vegetation that could use one treatment to be fixed.
The Pond Committee said the entire pond application for Haviland and Minechoag Pond would include using a Sonar chemical that “provides a reset of the pond for a few years.”
Breault added that it is a non-toxic chemical you put into the water and through the cycle it clears the pond and kills the weeds, but it does not kill the wildlife.
The next steps for the committee include going through a permit process to be able to do any work on the pond and each permit would cost around $5,000 but last approximately three years.
Breault said, “The permitting is comprehensive. You must do notice of intents, request for services, environmental monitoring, endangered species checks and public hearings.”
The Pond Committee said that they will investigate securing grants, asking for volunteer work and doing whatever they need to make sure these ponds get the help they need.
Selectman Derek DeBarge said, “If there is a way to organize safe volunteer clean up in those areas, I don’t think you would have a problem getting that help.”
Breault added that the Pond Committee will meet in January to prioritize their biggest needs and present to the Board of Selectmen the projected costs.