If you didn’t receive a complimentary issue of the NEW AND IMPROVED Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, check it out online by clicking the title of this post and turn to page 31 for a beautiful photo of the lake taken by one of our members! Titled “Drawdown on Lake Manchaug”, the photo was submitted as part of the Bi-Community Amateur Photo Contest presented by the Millbury and Sutton Cultural Councils. Great!
Good Morning Manchaug Pond!
I’m back and spring is here in full force! Manchaug Pond’s signs of spring: high water, the weekend roar of bass boats announcing 7 a.m., temperatures in the 80’s, the spring peepers singing around the lake their nightly songs, marsh marigolds providing the bright yellow along side the skunk cabbage in the watershed, and the simple white blooms of wild dogwood flowering along the road/woodsides… not to mention more company, my children & grandchildren swimming every day and sand on the kitchen floor which needs to be swept twice a day! Also, my neighbor reports the first boat of the season hit the wall this morning.
Waterlevel Stablizes at 3 ” Over Full
Here’s an update on the water level for those of you who can’t just look out the window! As of yesterday we are 3 inches over full but the height of the water on Manchaug Pond had leveled off, with no change reported in a 24 hour period. Last Saturday morning while the sun was shining and before the rains came, the low flow gate was opened to the max. It remained open as the rains came down bringing 5 inches or more to the area. The significant run-off from a saturated soil of the watershed accounts for heavy water running into the lake and the considerable increase in the level. With the lake on a steady rise and an over full level, flooding was the concern. – some homeowners already reporting damage to docks and sunk boats. Weds morning a board was taken out of the spillway to further arrest the rising waters. Thursday morning’s reading showed success with no increase in the water level. Driving around the lake earlier in the week, on Manchaug Road in Sutton and on Oak Street, Douglas, I could see how the storm drain grant will not only benefit the lake but also …
Bald Eagle Preliminary Count
MassWildlifeNEWSReleased January 29, 2007BALD EAGLE PRELIMINARY COUNT FIGURES “Preliminary eagle count reports from a concentrated surveying effort on January 5, 2007, by MassWildlife staff and volunteer observers resulted in 49 American Bald Eagles and 1 Golden Eagle. This event was part of a two week nationwide Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey conducted annually in January. Sightings from observers and other interested citizens are still coming into the office. These reports will be compiled and analyzed at a later date. A tally of eagle sightings by area from the January 5th survey are as follows: 21 –Quabbin Reservoir (16 adults, 5 immature); 11 — CT River (adults); 2 — Westfield River (adults); 1 — Sandisfield (adult); 1 — Blandford (adult); 2– Wachusett Reservoir (adults); 3 — Merrimack River (adults); 6 — Lakeville/Middleboro area (4 adults, 2 immature); 2 — Watuppa Pond, Fall River (adults); 1 — Westport River, Westport (adult); 1 — Great Herring Pond, Plymouth (adult). The Golden eagle and two new eagle nests were seen at the Quabbin Reservoir. As of 2006, there were at least 25 known nesting territories in the state with successful fledging of 16 eaglets. Eagle restoration efforts have been funded over the years from a …
Water Over the Causeway
The waterlevel is up! The two inches plus of rain and the inch of snowcover has the water level up so that the causeway wall is under waterand the Big Rock at the other end of the lake as of yesterday only hadabout 6 inches showing. The water is roaring out of the Manchaug dam butthe dam at Sutton Falls is also roaring. The water coming in, rain, snow melt and runoff from the watershed is bringing us ever closer to full! (Remember Lycott Environmental told us our lake was fed by runoff from the watershed not spring fed.) Also the spring newsletter is in the making. If you would like to submit anarticle, historical piece, question to the Skipper or an editorial, children’s piece,classified advertisement or announcement – all are welcome! I did have two individuals ask if their name could be left off their submission. Fine by me, but please be sure to credit original authors, or references for historical pieces, and quotes.
Why the Grant for a Non-point Source Pollution Project?
Many may think the lake is in great shape but those who have enjoyed it’s waters for 20, 30 or more years tell a different story. “You could see the bottom clearly!” and less weeds! Today’s Telegram and Gazette ran an article about new EPA regulations and the Route 20 sewage treatment plant. “Environmental officials have attributed low oxygen levels in the bay (Narragansett Bay in Rhodes Island) to the Blackstone River, and in part to the wastewater treatment facility and to companies that border the river,” the article reports. There is some debate whether or not the treatment plant is really to blame. The concern is the “release of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients which increase algae and other plant life that, when the die, reduce oxygen in the water.” What does this have to do with Manchaug Pond, you ask? Well, let me quote a description from our grant project: “The Pond (Manchaug) is 303d listed impaired by organic enrichment, low dissolved oxygen, and noxious aquatic plants and exotic species. Manchaug Pond directly feeds the Mumford River, which leads to the Blackstone River, both rivers are also 303d waterbodies.” Now clearly the Route 20 facility has nothing to do …
A Boat Ramp in the News
Manchaug Pond Public Boat Ramp Winter 2007 Today I found an interesting article in the Worcester Telegram whichtells of an effort to build a boat launch at South Meadow Pond inClinton. What I found interesting is that the state Office of Fishingand Boating is supporting a small ramp which allows “only boats thatcan be brought in on top of cars, such as canoes and kayaks.”Fishermen, the neighboring property owner and the Town – Selectman,Department Heads and a subcommittee – support a larger ramp whichwould allow the parking of cars with trailers. Mr. Jack Sheppard,Director of the state Department of Fish and Game, which encompasses thefishing and boating access office, believes “the pond size, wetlandconsiderations and financial factors dictate that a car-top access ismost appropriate for this location.” The Manchaug Pond boat ramp is also a ramp under the jurisdiction of the Department of Fish and Game, presently managed by the Town of Sutton. Previously it was managed by the DEM. Overuse, illegal parking of the Torrey Road and neighbors’ property, dumping on Blueberry Island are among the reasons the MPA asked for town management which include a gate, port-o-let and a gatekeeper on weekends during the season. For more info:This …
Eagle Spotted in Area 7
Just received a call that the eagle was sighted twice this afternoon in Area 7. I sure would love a photo if someone can get the camera out fast enough! Check my past post on eagles for the link to the eagle cam to see adults nesting, laying their eggs, hatching and raising their young. Keep your head up!🙂
Spring Blooms, Snow Melt and Higher Water
Spring is here! The ice and snow are history and my daughter looking forward to her first swim! Here the snowdrops are blooming in the yard once again having made their first appearance in January. With a good snow cover in the watershed and the lake covered in ice, the high temperature and strong winds caused a tremendous melt which brought the lake up quick. I haven’t heard how much the lake went up but the gate had been opened 12″ and then closed down to 8″ and then this week to 6″. This retain more of the melt and bringing us closer to the level Interface considers as “full”. What usually isn’t in the equation this time of the year is the ice. This month the lake was totally covered with ice! Damage looks to have hit only a few docks and the channel markers. The markers are bent back toward the south as the ice flow was thick and strong. The camera battery is charging so I’ll get you a photo later. A nearby dock took on a wacky Z shape as the ice flow pressed on. It was amazing as the front legs of the dock was …
Wind + Ice = Damage
Let me tell you, check your dock and anything else you may have in or a few feet away from the lake! If you don’t live on the lake, it is worth taking a ride down. My neighbor was kind enough to give us a heads up! The flag is out straight as the wind is incredible! It is blowing across the lake toward the channel and has broken up the ice and sent it crashing into the shore bringing anything in its path with it!
Morning Photos and the Nonpoint Source Pollution Grant Project
Today my kitchen window thermometer has reached a high of 71 degrees. And yes, it is in the sun. 🙂 Here’s a few photos taken this morning. Also, I am pleased to report that the Manchaug Pond Association Proposal for the s.319 Nonpoint Source Competitive Grants Program for the “Manchaug Pond NPS Improvement Project” is a go! Our start up meeting with the project managers – CEI’s civil engineer (he made the presentation at the MPA annual meeting 2 years ago) and environmental engineer – has been scheduled for April. The paperwork process is complete: forms submitted, letters for affirmative action and to establish the MPA as a vendor have been sent, project scope and sequence approved, and the contracts signed. Total cost of the project is $219,370 with the U.S. EPA funding 58.9% with $129,250 and the MPA and towns of Douglas and Sutton matching with 41.1% with $90,120 worth of services. Specifically the EPA pays for the engineers, the designs of the bioretention and leaching catch basins, vegetated swales, and plunge pools construction materials, educational material, and supplies. The matching contribution is the use of the towns highway department’s construction equipment and the salaries of the highway super, …
Eagles Go Home to Nest
A lake neighbor shared her story of watching the eagles this winter as they perched on this tree in front of her home. An adult and immature eagles where regularly seen over a few months this winter. If you missed the eagles on Manchaug Pond or would like to see more, check out these websites! The first has great photos of both adults and young, perched and in flight. The second and third site are eagle cams – a movie camera pointed at the eagles’ nest which will take you through the nesting, egg laying and hatching and the raising of the young eaglets. http://www.eagletmomsters.com/prints.html To watch eagles nesting in Massachusetts, check out this site. http://www.firstlightpower.com/eagles/default.asp Or in Washington State, this site.http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildwatch/eaglecam/index.html Explore those sites for links, movies, eagle sounds and more. And check in daily!