Mark those calendars! Saturday, June 14th at the YMCA Camp Blanchard facility, the MPA is hosting our annual Spring Social where friends and neighbors of Manchaug Pond get together over morning coffee and danish at the start of the season. This event is just a casual get together to see old friends, catch up on thelatest after our winter hibernation away from the lake. The MPAPresident and other officers and members of the Board of Directors will be on handto answer questions you might have on the water level, dam and otherissues relating to our lake. Never missing an opportunity, our 319Grant Coordinator and 1st Vice President, Marty Jo will have oureducational exhibit set up and has asked Donna Williams of theBlackstone River Coalition to come in and talk with us at 11:00 aboutthe big picture of our water quality. Our first social, organized by the Norman’s of Area 5, also included a swap where members brought books, puzzles, life jackets and other items they wanted togive or trade. Your welcome to bring a few items along this year. Our treasurer will probably have his scissors and a deck of cards for the50/50 raffle which is always a hit at …
Rain and Watershed Run-off Continue
The sun is shining now but this morning, like the lastfew days, brought more showers to help bring up the waterlevel. This photo was taken on Lackey Road in Sutton showing water running down the hill and under Manchaug Road directly to Manchaug Pond. This rain is bringing the lake level up, but not enough for many boat owners around the lake. The large leafed plant is skunk cabbage. If you travel along ManchaugRoad toward Central Turnpike you’ll see the yellow flowers of marsh marigolds growing among the cabbage. These are also found on the Douglas side down Ledgestone Road. Not only is the 4,288 acres of watershed providing precious run-off to raise the level of the lake but it is also filtering a portion of this water. Our 319 nonpoint pollution grant project looks at educating homeowners in the watershed so as to curb activities which adversely impact our lake’s water quality. The DEP Healthy Lawns Workshop organized by our 1st Vice President and held this spring is one of many educational efforts the MPA has planned. The fall 07 and spring 08 clean-up events hauled a couple dump truckloads of trash out of the watershed with some items …
What to TaLK About… Districts, Vandals, and Bears! Oh My!
Plenty to talk about this week… DISTRICT: The Whitin Reservoir group is scheduled to meet tonight with the Town of Douglas Board of Selectman to set the date for the first meeting of the property owners. http://www2.douglasma.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=776 It is at this first meeting that they will formally vote in a Watershed District. After Sutton gave the MPA a no vote, Whitins continued on as they are only in Douglas to file their bill in the state legislature where it was reviewed a couple legislative committees, passed the Senate and the House twice and reviewed and signed by our Governor. Our MPA President has been told that the people of Whitins are totally prepared for this first meeting of the district. The District Clerk of a nearby lake watershed district continues to mentor them in this process. DAM VANDAL STRIKES a 3rd TIME: Late yesterday, a call was received by the MPA President from the attorney for the dam owner reporting someone had placed sandbags in front of the flashboards the Manchaug Pond dam. Unknown to me, I had taken this photo in the morning showing not a drop of water flowing through. The dam owner explained the danger of messing …
Rain brings water level up – still not floating…
Sunday night on beautiful Manchaug Pond… The rains are bringing up the waterlevel, but some areas of the lake are still high and dry. Our Great Pond is accessible from the Public Access Boat Ramp, just be careful going up the channel and through the old causeway as a couple motors hit rock again this weekend. As for some of us living on the lake… we are still high and pretty dry. A couple households are enjoying their new found beach and you’ll see on the poll they responded that everything is fine. While others are stuck… My husband is making arrangements for the old 28 footer to go and to replace it with something smaller which he can take out for the winter season and put in when the “tide comes in”! (That’s a quote I heard from a campground owner said during our clean-up event. I love it! So true!) My daughters cried that the old boat – 24 years old and still assessed at $7,000! – is leaving as it has a deck on top which they and guests love to canonball off of when we float out in the middle. The lake is too shallow for …
Congratulations to Whitin Reservoir!
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post “YIPPEE! Not a drop going over the spillway :)”: We’re glad all will soon be in the Water.I live on the douglas res.and have been following the excellent job you’ve done keeping your residents informed. I wish our web was updated so promply.enjoy the summera neighbor down the lake Thank you! I am glad you are enjoying the MPA blog over the hill on the Douglas Res. You have a beautiful, quiet lake and I hear the boating and fishing is so much better on your private lake! As our association’s Corresponding Secretary, I started this blog in March of 2006 to offer a means of getting the latest news out quickly and timely – something a hardcopy newsletter can’t do. Besides the updates on the water level and water quality, the blog allows a view of the lake to the many seasonal property owners, campers, and day visitors. Others outside our association and community also loved to read of our goals, efforts and achievements as stewards of our water resource. As an informal vehicle for communication, it allows for comments/discussion, polls and the posting of beautiful photos and quips about …
How Do We Get Water in the Pond?
Anonymous said… Does the lake water level rise from just rain/runoff or does the lake have natural springs that feed the lakes water supply? May 14, 2008 9:15 AM Great question! The lake’s water level will rise from both rain and runoff from the watershed. Manchaug Pond is NOT fed by natural springs. (info from Lee Lyman of Lycott Environmental, Inc.) We need rain and soon! Can the rain/runoff bring the water level up quickly so residents and visitors can enjoy a safe season on the lake with swimming, boating, etc? Yes, definitely and I’ll get some photos of runoff for you, but the MPA Board of Directors continues to work to address the MPA membership’s call for a longterm solution to our dam situation. The dam owner has it up for sale, has moved their operation out of the area and is limiting their day-to-day involvement and liability. Also, as summed up nicely by a local official, in looking at the rule curve and regulations we have a “company interpreting in a conservative manner.” This week’s good news about the flashboards going in and the gate closed is a short term solution… we need to continue to work for …
Town of Sutton Responds to MPA Request!
Nice sign! I am impressed! What a week.. both the dam and the boat ramp receive major attention here on Manchaug Pond! The dam flashboards (all seven!) were put in on Tuesday and the low outlet gate closed. The same day, just up the road, the State Public Access Boat Ramp which is managed by the Town of Sutton, received a facelift! New signs, a second mowing, and the port-o-let – which was brought in earlier – is moved to its new location. Look at that sign! Impressive! State park brown with the Sutton “Rufus Putnam” town seal clearly marking the entrance of the ramp. (Now dead end Irma Jones Road should get less traffic from those lost boaters!) But the excitement doesn’t stop there… drive down the ramp to see a host of new signage: where to best park if you are pulling a trailer, if your boat is cartop, or if you need a handicap spot. There’s also signage explaining a few do’s and don’ts and to encourage you take all those noxious aquatic weeds off your boat motor! Who do we thank for all this? The new Sutton Town Administrator, James Smith! Seems at a meeting between …
YIPPEE! Not a drop going over the spillway :)
YIPPPEEEE! YAHOOOOEEEEE! LOOK! Not a drop going over the spillway!! I knew this big “green” company would do the right thing for the well-being of Manchaug Pond and the many creatures who live in its watershed! – once we brought it to their attention :)) Good work everyone!
BOARDS ARE IN! GATE CLOSED!
THE BOARDS ARE IN! all seven of them! AND THE GATE IS CLOSED to the one inch required by DEP for downstream aquatic life. The employee for the dam owner remaining at the mill did this work this morning at 10. (I was on the phone with the Sutton Town Administrator’s office at 9:30 and the MPA President right after, so I missed the whole thing! No photos.) He explained the Boards will leak a bit until they swell with water. But we are good for now. Pray for rain and we’ll see how fast this lake can come up. I’ll report more after my daughter comes for the grandchildren! It is hard to blog with an 11 month old and a 2 1/2 year old.
Dam Owner Notifies MPA the Boards are Going In!….. WHEN?
Here’s the lake from the launch at the Public Access Boat ramp on Manchaug Pond this afternoon. At 4:45, the water was still pouring though the spillway and low level outlet to leave Manchaug Pond lower still. The MPA President did speak with the attorney for the dam owner as to what is going on. He reports the boards are going in…. WHEN? I’ll report more later…
Enough is Enough – let’s hope today is the day!
We’re told flashboards have been ordered to go in today! This information came to us Saturday morning (unconfirmed, but from a state official to two of our board members) – the dam owner did not return our call Friday after their meeting with DEP – but we heard the meeting went in the LAKE’s favor. We’ll see what today brings … promises or action? BOARDS! The word of the day!
What a Beautiful Day!
What a beautiful day! Sunshine, comfortable temperatures, and a nice breeze to keep the mayflies away as a wonderful backdrop for a day with good company on a beautiful peaceful lake. Last night fireworks were seen on the lake which seemed to mark the start of the season. This beautiful field of bluets are to be found at the Public Access Boat Ramp on the Sutton side of Manchaug Pond. The boat ramp is owned by the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and managed by the Town of Sutton. Oh, did I just hear someone ask why the town manages this state owned ramp?