Below you'll find a list of all posts from 2009
Unfiltered stormwater, throught pipes such as this one, will be the target of future s.319 NonPoint Source Pollution Grant. Water quality up stream and the activities and practices in the watershed are important and contributing factors to the water quality of Aldrich Mill Pond (at Sutton Falls Camping Area) and Manchaug Pond and beyond to the Mumford and Blackstone River systems.
All for one and one for all! Annual Fall Cleanup 2009 a success! ending with chocolate, blueberry and choc. chip muffins and a box of Joe! 18 volunteers from 11 households cleaned the state public access boat ramp, Manchaug Road from Central Turnpike to Torrey Road, Torrey to Oak St, Shore Road, and Lackey Road as well as the lake shoreline areas which were not cleaned during the spring cleanup event. Whew! Covering the Shoreline and lake areas: The public boat ramp: Along Shore Road and the conservation land: Also a few invasive weeds not picked up during the Weed Cleanup a few weeks ago also made there way to the truck! Along Manchaug Road: Strange finds included a distributor cap and a part to a high tech weather machine or something! Great job everyone! It was a pleasure working with all of you – we sure covered a lot of area. (I also was told the story about last week’s boating accident from two eyewitnesses. We’re working on getting the pics, video and story to you via the blog! Stay tuned.)
Come on, we want YOU! Lake Cleanup this morning! Rise and shine! 🙂 See you around 9 at the boat ramp. I bought muffins – the big ones from BJ’s. I have rubber gloves too to keep your gloves clean. If you’ve never joined us before you’ll find the work easy, the company and conversation good, tremendous scenery, and a superb mission/purpose – the care of your Manchaug Pond. Don’t just let the MPA Board of Directors do the work – lend a hand – even for a 1/2 hour!
Our annual Fall Clean-up is tomorrow morning, Saturday, October 17th from 9 to noon. The town has the truck parked waiting for us to get to work! Our coordinator wants YOU ALL to come join the MPA Board of Directors as we… Hit the road! Hit the Boat Ramp! Hit the shore! Our annual clean-up targets litter and illegal dumping in and around the lake. 9:00 am to noon. Meet at the Boat Ramp on Torrey Road to get a bag and fan out from there or take a piece of your own shore or a roadside and get to work. If you thought the Weed Cleanup was hard work- you’ll find this a breeze! Thursday we spotted two early birds cleaning up Lackey Road and Manchaug getting a head start on the job. Thank you to the Sutton Highway Dept. for joining us in this effort with the use of the truck and disposal of trash collected.
Yesterday was Blog Action Day where once a year Blogger asks all those users to write about a given subject. This year the topic is climate change. Given I am not a meteorologist, I will leave the research and speculation about the global climate to others and focus on the weather instead! Sorry Blogger. Here it is October 16th and what should have been our first frost is actually the morning of our first snow! Snow is falling as we speak, the wind is gusting up and the temperature is at 32 F. The fall foliage, especially in Area 1, has well begun the promised reds, oranges and yellows. Photos will be posted later today. Also we hope to give you some details/photos/video of the boat involved in Saturday’s boating mishap – one of our MPA Board members heard it on the police scanner and is tracking down some details. With Manchaug Pond noted for its rocky shore combined with the early low waterlevel, boat safety has been a big concern. The boat ramp and the campgrounds bring in an ever-changing population of recreational boaters which are not always familiar with the lake.
Bow hunters must be in the woods today as the turkeys are hanging out in yards and along the roadsides. And further down the road, a few more birds are seen.
Lets feed the fish! Feed them a few pellets at a time and watch them jump! Or get someone in the back of the pickup to throw it in by the shovelful! They sure get big! Manchaug Pond is not a stocked pond but brook trout do live in the unnamed tributaries of our watershed. Land worth preserving. A beautiful ride out to Belchertown, especially this time of year! http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/fisheries/fisheries_home.htm
So no one wants to take a guess as to where yesterday’s photo was taken? 72 visitors since the post – all shy! or maybe not interested? or not into games? Anyway, you know those are not gumballs!
Yesterday was a beautiful day for a ride! Can you guess the destination? This photo is a clue!
The MPA continues to actively work to preserve our Manchaug Pond! Have YOU joined us? Do so today!
Did you have a good day today? Sure is beautiful around Manchaug Pond! Next Saturday, plan to spend the morning at Manchaug Pond and have a better day giving back to the lake with people who care for this great natural resource. Join your MPA Board of Directors in giving time to your lake. You and your family and friends can join us as we clean the boat ramp and roadsides around Manchaug Pond of trash from the spring and summer season. We take pride in our lake and want others to do the same. Meet at the State Boat Ramp between 9 and noon. Bring your gloves – we’ll provide the bags and the good company as we work together for the lake.
Heavy rains hit the area this morning bringing rivers of water down the roads and from the watershed hillsides into Manchaug Pond. Let’s take a look at the completed site work made possible by the s.319 NonPoint Pollution Grant to filter all this stormwater: On Manchaug Road in Sutton, the first site – a GABION WEIR. Site 2 – LEACHING CATCH BASIN- complete with small boulders to keep people from parking in the area. Site 3 built in the existing ditch – CHECK DAM WITH FILTRATION POOL. Site 4 – CHECK DAM – breaking the flow in that same roadside ditch. State Public Access Ramp: Site 5-1 – Grass Paver Infiltration System Site 5-2 – Nutrient Filtration System 5-3 – Rain Garden Area before planting 5-4 – Catch Basin Upgrade In Douglas on Oak Street, Site 6 & 7 – Gabion Dam with Filtration Purge Pool This site work has been done to filter the stormwater of nutrients to improve your Manchaug Pond resource! The project is funded by the EPA and MassDEP, spearheaded and administered by the Manchaug Pond Association, written with the help of engineers and environmental scientist at CEI, Inc, and matched with work performed cooperatively by …
