Con Com Mtg Tomorrow Night

The continuation of the Sutton Conservation Commission’s review of the new water level for Manchaug Pond proposed by the dam owner is slated for this Wednesday, September 17th in the Sutton Town Hall. As of yesterday the secretary reported that this item is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. on the agenda. But stay tuned, I’ll report here if there is a change… rumor has it that due to the large turnout and the time needed to consider the topic, the Con Com may postpone to a separate Wed. where it would be a stand alone issue at that meeting. Will keep you posted. Here’s a photo of the Old Holbrook Place campground in 2006 when the dam owner took the water down to make repairs. You can see that Manchaug Pond, especially on the Sutton side, is very shallow. Taking the water level down 3-4 feet can leave quite a few docks stranded, coves dry and the water yards away from the shore. Looking at this makes it very easy to understand why timing with a drawdown is SO important – why the fish kill, why boats hit rocks, how docks became useless, why wildlife was lost in the coves, and …

Water is flowing…

Yes the water is flowing and yes the blog has been too quiet. And you asked what’s new? Today, Monday is a beautiful, cool sunny day on Manchaug Pond in the mid 60s. Yesterday was just as beautiful with a breeze. Saturday into Sunday early morning, Manchaug Pond received a total of 5 inches of rainfall from the remnant of hurricane Hanna. Water is running downstream from Manchaug Pond out the low-level gate and under the flashboards. Friday, two “men in boots” were at the dam opening things up – the lowlevel gate was opened a good amount letting white water flow and the sandbags were removed from the spillway flashboardsso water could flow beneath them (remember the little stone situated under the bottom flashboard allowing water to run out the spillway even with the flashboards in…) The reason we’re open? My guess would be Hanna, Ike and the other potential storms ofHurricane Season which give the dam owner a legitimate reason to open things up. Even though we still haven’t reached our summer high for waterlevel yet. Also the previous caretaker would have given the MPA a courtesy call notify us of the opening- reason and how much – …

Join the Public Hearing for the Manchaug Pond Waterlevel!

3-Sep-2008 Wednesday 7:00PM PUBLIC HEARING ~ WETLANDS PROTECTION ACTSutton Conservation CommissionSutton Town Hall, 4 Uxbridge Road, Sutton. Come stand with the Manchaug Pond Association in support of the lake by attending this important meeting. Of concern is the dam owner’s new plan to further lower the water level. We have already experienced negative impacts to our lake with the drying of coves, wetland and channel areas; major fish kills involving all species; decline or loss of spring peepers/amphibian populations; excessive weed growth; public safety hazards from exposed rocks; loss of revenue to town and area businesses with drop in visitors to the State Public Access Boat Ramp and campgrounds. See what it is all about!

Caught in an Artic Votex

Where have I been?! July 28th was my last blog entry here, snuck in the one on August 2nd and now another dated August 14th! The blog has been in a big void especially with everything going on. The weatherman says we have been in an arctic vortex…. sure! http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010000/a010005/index.html http://nsidc.org/arcticmet/patterns/arctic_oscillation.htmlhttp://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03448 Sure! I can definitely relate to that! Look at the photo of a whole lane of artic vortexes! But with all this exceptionally rainy season, the dam owner’s representative reported the lake had come up only 11 inches by July 30. Two months later with plenty of help from nature, the dam owner missed by a few feet their new “Full” date goal of June 1st. The weather has been swirling around us bring in storm after storm. But so has life and the issues the MPA is facing on behalf of Manchaug Pond. We are the busiest we have been in years! Save Wednesday evening, September 3rd on your calendar for Manchaug Pond. Stay tuned and the next post will give you a major update!

Going back to read the comments…

Hello readers! Lets go back and read the three comments posted after the last blog entry just to catch us up with life!Blogger leslie said… I am a seasonal resident on Lake Manchug, after reading this article I didn’t see anything that said the water level would not be an issue again next year. Is there something that the seasonal residents can do to ensure this does not happen again. Can the company that has rights to the dam leave it open again next year. July 30, 2008 8:20 AM Anonymous Anonymous said… I would have asked the governor if he would commit to fast track legislation to have the Office of Dam Safety take ownership and control of the Manchaug Pond Dam. The Office of Dam Safety currently controls 341 dams throughout the state, Manchaug Pond should also be one of them. Manchaug Pond is a Great Pond and should have enough water in it to be enjoyed by the Commonwealth(read all about it in Chapter 91, The Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act of 1866). From the website www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/about01.htm “Through Chapter 91, the Commonwealth seeks to preserve and protect the rights of the public and to guarantee that private uses …

MPA Talks With Governor Deval Patrick

Who cares about Manchaug Pond today? Who cares about our low water level? Who cares that some property owners around the lake still can’t get their motorboat in the water? Who cares Manchaug had a major fish kill with over 200 dead fish counted in three locations? Who cares that the spring peepers are gone from one of our coves because it is dry? Who cares that the yearly routine maintenance on the dam didn’t happen last year and hasn’t happen yet this year? Who cares that gate receipts at the state ramp are down as visitors don’t like low water, hitting rocks and broken props? Who cares? The MPA cares! 100 members strong, with over 40 years of stewardship, the MPA continues telling others why they need to care about Manchaug Pond. Rep. Kujawski suggested to a couple MPA members who live in his district that they attend the Governor’s Town Meeting Tour in Webster to talk about Manchaug Pond. Rep. Kujawski cares about Manchaug Pond. Last Wednesday, the MPA came face to face with Governor Deval Patrick! Right there at Bartlett High School in Webster the MPA spoke for you to the Governor. Wait! First… tell me what …

From Sunday to Sunday – 10 inches of rain!

From last Sunday to today we have had numerous thunderstorms bring us a total of over 10 inches of rain by the little garden rain gauge! This photo of the flash boards taken on Friday showed 4 1/2 boards out of 7 still exposed. The waterlevel should continue to go up as runoff water flows in from the watershed and of course with more rain in the forecast. Tonight’s sunset was exceptionally beautiful after the thunderstorm. And my husband reports the old 28ft pontoon boat is finally floating – front and back!

Clouds were building for this much needed rain!

When I took the photos of the contrails, the clouds were building for the much needed rain we are now finally receiving. With the warm weather, the lake was going down further and further reaching a point where many of us were loosing the couple inches of water that made it possible to get our boats out on the lake. Worcester County has been receiving rain but not here on Manchaug Pond. As a neighbor put it “There’s an umbrella over Manchaug with storms all around us!” I’d receive phone calls during the day from board members who work in Westboro, Northbridge and other areas of Worcester County, all excited to report the 2 inches of rain they were receiving to have me report dry conditions lake side. Well that is over as this week the skies have opened up on Manchaug Pond! Sunday afternoon brought almost an inch, Sunday night saw winds of 23.7 miles per hour with more rain to bring the total by Tuesday to over 2 1/2. Keep it coming!! Skies the day of the contrails: Area 2 looks like the Golden City!

Contrails

Couple photos taken the beginning of the week:

Whitin Reservoir Watershed District in the news

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Whitin Reservoir district gets ready to buy dam Waterfront property owners pursue control By Steven H. Foskett Jr. TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFFsfoskett@telegram.com DOUGLAS— Residents who live or own property along Whitin Reservoir are moving along with plans to buy a dam that controls the water level. The Whitin Reservoir Association recently completed all of the steps necessary to be able to call itself the Whitin Reservoir Watershed District. The designation allows the group to act in many ways as a municipality; residents who started the push for the designation have made no secret that the main reason for forming the district was to allow them to buy a dam owned by Interface Fabrics, which operated the former Guilford of Maine plant on Gilboa Street until 2006. The company has been looking to sell off assets in the area. Property owners on the reservoir have said that Interface was a good custodian of the dam, but they were nervous about what type of arrangement might be forced upon them if the ownership of the dam changed hands. The group received support from selectmen for forming the watershed district, and in the spring the Legislature passed a special …

July 4th Weekend

What a weekend! The sights, sounds and smiles had to be experienced! My Canon PowerShot S100 digital elph fails to capture the moments of a great weekend. The holiday started on the 3rd, Thursday evening, with a couple boats decorated with red, white and blue lights, our nation’s flag, patriotic music to be joined by others in a parade around the lake – cut short all too soon by the sounds of fireworks and a few cottages beginning the holiday weekend with the traditional lighting of the shoreline with flares. Friday the 4th was overcast but the rain never came as cookouts brought family and friends to the shores of Manchaug Pond. Out on the lake that evening a number of boats stayed out in the middle to have the best view of the flares lining the shore. Joining them, we had a boat come along side to ask when the town would begin the fireworks display! That was a good one! As neither Douglas nor Sutton had advertised fireworks this year and I doubt that Manchaug Pond would ever be chosen as a prefered location! Saturday brought 3/4 of an inch of rain – badly needed on this lake. …

Getting Ready for the 4th?

July 4th is big on Manchaug Pond. The plans and preparations are in the works for it all: decorated boats for the parade, the lighting of the shore the night before at 9:00 p.m. with flares, campfires, cookouts with family and friends, and fireworks here and there. Be sure to hang those flags properly and with respect. On a pole – the US flag is on top. On a building – union or field of stars hung first on left. This site will give more details: http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html For the lighting of the shoreline: purchase your flares from your MPA Area Representative or at the campground store at the Old Holbrook Place campground or King’s Campground. Price is $3.00 a piece or 2 for $5. These flares are obtained for the MPA from the town police department at cost. Fireworks: They are illegal in Massachusetts but a number of Manchaug Pond property owners have hired a professional to put on great displays over the lake. Be safe! The parade usually just starts up! This year we will have to do a little circle in the middle to avoid the rocks exposed by the low waterlevel in the coves. Sorry in advance …