Yes, I received from the US Postal Service today notice of a certified letter from MRC waiting for me to pick up on Monday. This is notification to all property owners abutting Manchaug Pond and those with water rights, that the dam owner has filed a Notice of Intent with the Douglas Conservation Commission (DCC) of their revised Operation and Maintenance Plan for Manchaug Pond dam. A public hearing will be held allowing you to hear about the plan and again ask questions and present your concerns. Friday night, May 1, I checked out the DCC website to find that Manchaug Pond and the dam owner, Manchaug Reservoir Corp at Interface, is on the agenda for Monday, May 18th at 8:30 p.m.http://www2.douglasma.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=1148 You’ll notice Whitin’s NOI was available on the DCC website but Manchaug’s wasn’t. I’ll keep you posted when I get details…. and I’ll see you there. Also you’ll notice Whitin Reservoir is listed on the agenda for June 1st – that’s the continuation requested by their dam owner, MRRC and the Whitin Reservoir Watershed District.
Town Stops Flow from Stevens Pond
Yesterday the Town of Sutton Highway Dept, keeper of the Stevens Pond dam, was seen closing the gate to retain water. Stevens is low and with the flashboards in at Manchaug and the future of the waterlevel and dam still uncertain, it was a wise move. Run-off still continues to flow from the watersheds but forcasted rain showers have left us with little more than a sprinkle or two.
Support Waters Farm Annual Plant Sale!
Pick up a order form today at the Sutton Town Hall to order your annual flowers and vegetables to benefit Waters Farm Preservation. Vegetables offered include Sweet 100’s tomatoes as well as Early Girl and BIg Boy, green peppers and cucumbers. Annuals include 4 colors of petunias, red and blue salvia, marigolds, lobelia, impatiens, dusty miller, wax begonias, ageratum and alyssum all priced at $2.00 per 6 pack. Specialty hanging baskets are also ready to order at 10 inch and 12 inch size and include fuchsia, new guinea impatiens, ivy geranuim and petunias. Order today for pick up May 16th from 9 to noon at the Darling Barn! Supporting Waters Farm, a living museum donated by a past secretary of the MPA helps preserve conservation land in the Manchaug Pond watershed. File photos provided by MPA 1st Vice President.
Photos from the Spring Cleanup!
A few photos from the Spring Cleanup! Sorry I only captured the ramp… roadsides and the lake shoreline also were spruced up. I should have taken a picture of the father/son team in their boat, their rubber boots and the pair that was declared most fashionable! Next year… Thanks to the Town of Sutton Highway Dept. for providing the truck and taking care of the trash collected.
Comments and Questions on the Flashboards
All flashboards in. Let’s count them… (every day!) Anonymous said… Great Job MPA, Question: Who ever took these pictures knew when the flashboards were going in. So with that in mind does that person know if the owner directed them in and how many just to keep us quiet for now. Or are there more boards to be placed in to capture all rains and runoff for the lake to go to a normal level and that is still a long way to go. But we would like to say good hard work from all involved that raised an eyebrow or stood up for the right cause. Lets not stop here, lets fill it to its max level! Thanks MPA, Resident that appreciated all your hard work. April 26, 2009 10:17 AM Nice to hear from a resident! The Corresponding Secretary (yours truly) took the photos of the flashboards going in. WHAT tipped the MPA off? Well, at the April 15th MassDEP site evaluation, we were told a determination could be out in about a week. On April 21, DEP issued a UNILATERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER to the dam owner stating “within three (3) days of the date of this ORDER, …
Rain Forecasted for Tuesday
Flashboards are in, thank God, the DEP and the Conservation Commission! Now we need rain. In spring when the soils in the watershed are already wet/saturated, the majority of any rainfall will end up in the lake as run off. Fuddy, the old dam caretaker, used to tell us that 1 inch of rain at this time can give us a 10 inch increase in the waterlevel. (the old engineer’s report confirms this info.) So 3 inches of rain would fill us nicely! The weather according to Channel 7: TonightMuch cooler air will continue to work from Boston to Worcester. Temps will go from the 80s to the 60s in an hour! Overnight lows in the low 50s. Partly cloudy skies. NE wind 5-15 mph. MondayMuch cooler with sunny skies. Less humid with highs in the low 70s—mid 60s at the immediate coast.Monday NightClear skies. Lows in the 50s. TuesdaySunny & hot again. Highs near 90. Watch out for a late day t-storm.WednesdayMuch cooler. Sunny skies. Highs in the upper 60s. ThursdaySunny. Delightful. Highs in the 60s. WBZ is calling for rain Weds and perhaps Friday and Saturday if not tonight. So between the two weather channels hopefully we’ll get …
3:45 today the flashboards were installed!
The flashboards are in and the low level gate is closed! You will see water still flowing as the boards have to swell a bit now that they are in place.
I’m with you, Bubby!
Anonymous said… This is more like a drama blog on a yearly basis. Boards will be in and everything will work out. Have a great summer….bubby April 17, 2009 3:51 PM Bubby! I totally agree… but if you only knew how much time the MPA Board of Directors and so many others on the town and state level are putting into this drama you’d buy a front row seat! Here’s a look at the flow leaving Manchaug today. Open and open WIDE! Totally white water. The area between the two ponds, Manchaug and Steven’s, is totally flooded. Yesterday when I walked by I could clearly see the land where the skunk cabbage is growing. Why? Ready Bubby for more drama? Here we go… April 15th MassDEP’s Wetlands Section Chief held a site evaluation at Manchaug Pond. He started the meeting at the dam, walked down to a wetland on Holt Road, and then drove to the inlet at The Old Holbrook Place Campground. What did he find… low-level gate open, no flashboards in and water flowing over the spillway; bordering wetlands down 2 feet and drying out; all 5 1/2 miles of bank dry; the majority of the shoreline in …
Cleanup Keeps a Tally
“Everybody’s Runnin on Dunkin and I’m Not Lovin it” Our 1st Vice President and Cleanup Coordinator got creative this year and brought us a new slogan! She also asked the 23 volunteers to keep a tally sheet of what they picked along the roadside and shoreside, wanting to know where the trash is coming from. As volunteers checked in we found the brands were specific to certain areas. McDonald and plastic bottles were reported popular in the coves; McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, cigarette packs along Manchaug Road, glass vodka bottles at the ramp, etc. Also note the bottle return for Aquafin water in ME and CA but NOT MA.
Runoff from the watershed – Cleanup tomorrow
Water continues to flow into Manchaug Pond from the watershed. This particular Sutton unnamed tributary was surveyed last summer by MassWildlife – 120 brook trout were counted. Tomorrow is our Spring Cleanup event. See my previous post for details…. See you out there!
Hang Tight – Don’t Panic and Don’t Act Desperate!
Here’s the recap as of today: Our dam owner filed a NOI (Notice of Intent) last August with the Conservation Commission in Sutton to take the water level down. March 4th there was another public hearing before Sutton Conservation Commission at which the dam owner presented an even lower level siting a need to comply with 1/2 PMF Storm Standard (Possible Maximum Flood – lot of variables go into the calculation and it is specific for each dam – etc. Rip rap or black top on the earthen side is the solution.) Bottomline: Dam owner is trying to identify a new owner for the dam. Whitin Watershed District reports a friendly take over of their dam is just a vote away with the details all ironed out. With respects to Manchaug Pond Dam, the dam owner reports all serious proposals will be considered! To date we have on record: * a 3/24/09 order from Sutton Conservation Commission to keep at historic levels. * a 4/6/09 letter from Office of Dam Safety to dam owner stating the dam has not been ruled unsafe, please submit more info, and dam owner is obligated to comply with local Conservation Commissions. * a 4/9/09 …
While Push Continues for Flashboards… WATCH OUT FOR ROCKS!
All are still pressing for “flashboards in!” …. more calls yesterday and today, more meetings scheduled on the push… This morning the lake was calm – like a mirror. Three bass fishing boats from the State Public Access Ramp came up the channel at a snail’s pace, motors tipped up, with a man at the each bow watching and directing to avoid the submerged rocks. Makes you want to yell, “stay right!” and once through the old dam, “stay in the middle!” This photo was taken Tuesday at the ramp: