A New Perspective!

What weather we had a dinner time! And continue to have! Is the lake going to fill up in one night?!! This photo was taken, not through a window as it appears, but with the camera out in the rain! The lake is in the center through the trees with my neighbors garage to the left. Did it come down! Not 10 minutes later the wind died down and the sun popped out between the clouds all the while still raining! And of course, I said to my daughter, “Where there’s rain and sun, there’s a rainbow! Lets get down to the lake.” We grabbed the camera and ran down the lake (remember we’re one of those with water rights!) This is what we saw… It is always amazing to me that you can be looking at things one way, say this dark, ominous looking sky and if you would only turned in the other direction – do a 180 degree turn, just look behind you as we did – you would have a totally different scene. Sure enough, when we turned around there was the rainbow in the middle of the storm! as we stood on that dry, rocky …

Gate Repairs Completed!

THE JOB IS DONE! The old gate is history. The new low level outlet gate is in place. The new gate is holding back water. The rubbish screen is in place. The sandbags are gone with a few to the side. The crews have gone home. The pond is on the refill.Now if you visit the dam you will notice there is a flow down to Steven’s Pond out of Manchaug. Yes, the gate is closed tight! BUT the state has required that this minimium flow be maintained “to support aquatic life downstream” thus the gate was made 3/8 of an inch smaller than the previous one. There will always be a flow in the closed position. Our MPA President was at the dam this afternoon getting more pictures and talking with the crews. So believe it, this is the final report, the gate has be replaced! If you see crews there off and on this fall, don’t worry as they will be doing some “cosmetic” type work, replacing a bracket here and there, etc. Nothing major. So I guess now we pray for rain and snow cover! And three cheers for a job well done and a high water …

Dam Gate Repairs Near Complete!

The MPA President was at the dam all day yesterday watching the whole process and learning more about the gates, their operation and the structure of the dam. He tells us the gate is still under water and he took alot of close up pictures which will be shared with blog readers tomorrow. He said as the state dam safety reports state, the dam is structurally sound and is made up of great granite blocks. He also took pictures of the Sutton Highway Department working on the header of a nearby culvert under a nearby road which needed repair. The President met off site today with the crew from R.H. White about today’s work. The crane today (see photo) is larger as it is being used to lift 1600 pound sandbags into place to block the flow so the divers can get the old gate out. Two series of sandbags are planned to block the flow to expose the gate and so the least amount of water is taken out of the lake. The dam owner’s hydraulic engineer from Maine continues to be on site. Yesterday a temporary wood frame was put in to guide and hold the new steel …

Repairs Begin Today on Dam

Here’s a photo taken at 8:45 this morning with a full crew on board from the crane to the plant manager to the work crews to the engineers. The day was wrapping up at 4:30 p.m. There is water coming out of the dam this evening but Fuddy’s friend “Mother Nature” is already working to bring the lake back up to normal!

More on Tomorrow’s Dam Repairs and the Mill

Just had our Area Representative from Area 5 call in saying he spoke with the R.H. White truck at the dam this afternoon… a crane is coming in tomorrow to lift the new gate into place in front of the broken gate so that the switch can be done with little water loss from the pond. Also safety will be the word of the day as the Sutton Rescue will be parked at the site with the workers using harnesses and other safety equipment and precautions. I should mention the previous posting was prompted by our Treasurer who reported the gate was closed tight even though it is broken and was wide open. This put me on the phone to the caretaker. (Read the previous post for his update!) Fuddy also reports news on the mill in Douglas – crews from Canada are currently taking out machinery. Fuddy personally hopes the mill will be sold to a manufacturing company and not for condos. Both our President and an Area Rep. from Area 4 reported hearing rumors out there of a bid being made for the mill and the three dams but this has not been confirmed so we’ll wait for …

This is it! The Gate is Closed!

This morning our dam owner closed the dam gate. As you know, having received the certified letter and also in an MPA mailing, that they had anticipated the water level would “reach its lowest point on or about October 15th” Fuddy reports the water level in the lake has been going down at a rate of about 4 inches a day for a while. He has been taking readings at 7:00 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day. Today, the gate closed easily – he “could have closed it with one finger” – as the pressure from the force of the lake is no longer there! Tomorrow the repair crew will begin working. Once repairs are complete, the refill will begin. Fuddy is hoping for good snow cover this winter so the snow melts from the watershed fill us up quickly. Manchaug Pond is NOT fed by streams but by rain, runoff from the surrounding watershed, water flowing from Aldrich Pond and beyond in the watershed to the pond at Singletary Rod and Gun Club. I’ll get photos of the dam later today and post them for you! Did you know the property owners from around the lake come from 30 …

A Photo from Days of Higher Water

Here’s a photo of Manchaug Pond taken by a reader/member. I am not sure when it was taken but it is a beauty! A member of the Sutton Conservation Commission paid a visit to Manchaug Pond today! Quite surprised at the shallowness of the pond! She thought it was a much deeper lake in the over 20 foot area. I informed her that the state Public Access Board has it listed at 13 feet.

Water Level Almost There

Thanks to the staff of the Douglas State Forest for repainting the channel markers this past winter. The rocky shore makes for few weeds. If possible… if you see some small weedy patches between the rocks, place some rocks over the area.

The MPA in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle

The Millbury-Sutton Chronicle reported in their October 5th issue the MPA coming before the Sutton Board of Selectman’s September 26th meeting to ask for their support of a Manchaug Pond District. It is a very lengthy article which highlights concerns and questions of the selectman. The article does get quite a few things wrong starting from the MPA President’s name to the fact that the MPA did present the Board with 129 signatures representing 75% of the property owners and those with deeded water rights around Manchaug Pond who support the initiative. The report also fails to capture the intent of the people around Manchaug Pond and why we want a municipal district: to give property owners around the lake a voice! To empower each of us so we can take care of our lake and maintain the water level and secure state and federal $$ to be spent on Manchaug Pond for what we feel is important. The Town told us they don’t want our dam or the waterrights and don’t have the $$ to maintain it! The state wants to breech every dam it can and has also stated they won’t help. The Corp of Engineers doesn’t want …

The Certified Letter

A few of my neighbors asked me what the certified letter was about. Given they didn’t pick it up at the post office and the fact that our membership includes not only the property owners of Douglas and Sutton around the lake and those of us with deeded water rights but also long time renters and a few campers, I put a copy of the letter in the mail with the newsletter. Forgive me on the newsletter too, it is late as usual.. succumbing to a number of technical difficulties as we tried something new with the transfer from computer to the printer’s copier. Anyway it is out and those who are not online may appreciate the printed communication. Hope you enjoy the photo. This was taken Monday evening on the wall at the channel. Its of a fisherman from the boat ramp who caught a nice bass my daughter spotted swimming in the channel.

A Close Look at the Dam Gate and Spillway

The following photos were sent in by the MPA President and his daughter: The gate… The spillway… How’s that for a close-up! You should also know that the MPA has secured the records on the dam from the State Office of Dam Safety for the past 20 or so years. These include reports on all inspections, maintenance, repairs and emergency plans.