Ponderings Newsletter: Fall 2019
SEPTEMBER 2019 VOLUME 25
By and For the Friends of White Pond
Town Beach Update
Ryan Kane, Concord Recreation Department
Beach Report: The Concord Recreation Department experienced a successful first year in managing the White Pond beach. The beach, still in process of being gifted from the White Pond Associates, operated for the 2019 season from June 29 to August 25. Six-hundred fifty household passes were sold, reaching that capacity in early June, and those pass holders visited the beach a combined 6,279 times. Additionally, the members brought approximately 500 guests (458 logged with a few days on business still not entered into our system) and the beach also experienced approximately 100 day-pass users (88 logged with a few days of business still not entered).
Algae: The Concord Recreation team worked closely with the Concord Board of Health on evaluating the water conditions at the beach. Even though we were closed for Day One, ultimately the beach experienced a healthy summer and only closed for a total of 5 days (3 full days and 4 half days). The town of Concord Facilities and Recreation team have made a commitment to taking steps to better the effect of the beach on the pond, most of which were successfully put into operation this summer and some that are in process for this fall. Improvements are listed below;
· Placed a Port-o-potty at fishing ramp that will be available year round (up on hill in winter).
· Purchased and utilized a restroom trailer, eliminating the need for Septic based restrooms
· Installed a stone drain system at the end of the driveway entering the beach area to assist with run off down the hill
· Coming in Fall, installation of Construction silt fence and hay along the hillside to help reduce run off.
Future: The town is currently in contract with Weston and Sampson engineering firm to design a Master Plan for the facility. The Recreation team recently sent out an evaluation survey to the beach members and will utilize the results in reviewing operating procedures for the Summer 2020.
Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three
Kate Blair
On a cool but sunny August afternoon, the Friends of White Pond testing team, Dr. William Walker, Joe Rogers, and Katy Blair, walked the short distance from Katy’s house to Carmen’s porch on Shore Drive to pick up their equipment: a Secchi disk; a view scope to aid under-water vision; a depth meter; a dissolved oxygen and temperature gauge; oars; life jackets; the boat registration; anchors; and data sheets. They walked down the steep steps to the little white boat stowed on the narrow beach, loaded up, and headed out to take the weekly and monthly measurements that Dr. Walker had initiated in the 1980’s.
Joe rowed across the green-blue pond to “Site One,” one of the deep holes in the pond and our designated testing spot for dipping the Secchi disk to measure depth of clarity and lowering the oximeter to track oxygen and temperature changes. After throwing in and securing the anchors against a west wind and choppy waves, the team recorded oxygen and temperature levels indicating a shrinkage of the algae layer, and detectable dissolved oxygen remaining at the pond’s bottom, all positive signs. However, the clarity was shallow at 17’- 4,” and Katy noted a distinct “pondy” odor from the water.
Katy recorded all these findings on the appropriate data sheets, which she would later email to the White Pond Advisory Committee, Susan Rask at the Department of Health, and Delia Kaye, at the Department of Natural Resources. Dr. Walker would in turn upload the data to his website.
As the team rowed back, they decided to publish an end of summer Ponderings to update the folks in the watershed concerned about the algae and the health of the pond.This edition focuses on some of those questions and concerns that citizens have expressed during the course of the summer. We take our caps off to the editor emeritus, Judith Sprott, who inaugurated Ponderings almost thirty years ago after the founding of the Friends of White Pond in 1987. Dr. Walker has been assisted by many different volunteers, including Judith and her husband George.
Thanks to all who have participated over the years.
For testing data, please visit Dr. Bill Walker’s web site: http://www.wwwalker.net/whitepond/
Algae Testing
Carmen Jaquier, Chair, White Pond Advisory Committee
It has been a very active algae bloom year in other places in Massachusetts, per Hilary Snook of the EPA Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaboration. But we have been lucky at White Pond, with only five beach closings so far this year.
Observing and testing while rowing around the pond, that the Department of Natural Resource’s erosion control in the cove area might have had a significant positive influence on the health of the pond this year. (Please see the Town Manager’s report below). Coir logs and fencing helped to keep erosion at bay and encouraged the public to stay off the cove’s banks. Signage educated dog owners about the dangers of cyanobacteria, and rangers patrolled the reservation land to discourage swimmers. The environmental consulting group, ESS, wrote in their report of several years ago that runoff is the chief cause of blooms for White Pond, and the DNR’s efforts to mitigate the problem may have proven that hypothesis.
Another thing I have noticed this year is a new murkiness to the water. Ann Boudrot, the waterfront director of the Town Beach, agreed. The Secchi disk clarity depths have been shallower than in other years. And residents have noted that the water is almost an opaque green instead of the past years’ clear blue.
My testing protocol is weekly, at the same location where the Friends of White Pond test. I take two water samples at prescribed depths, also noting the weather conditions, wind, directions, temperature, etc. One sample is taken with a net and the other with a weighted tube. The tube gets everything in the water column, as the net might miss some of the smallest particles. These samples are processed fresh using a fluorometer and different filters and protocols. Slides are made from some of the samples and a sampling of the zooplankton from the net sample is preserved in dated tubes. All the water samples read are then frozen and, in the fall, when the season is over, they are thawed, read, and noted on the same log sheets as their accompanying fresh samples.
I then row the shoreline of the pond to see what is happening: murkiness, blooms, conditions in general. If there is a bloom, I take a surface grab from the boat and go through the same processing, making both fresh and frozen samples. Starting in 2018, I have been sending copies of the log sheets and slides to Susan Rask, head of Concord’s Health Department. Susan has been very active in monitoring the pond and calling the state when she feels it is needed for safety of pond users.
This year, the algae number readings from the fluorometer on the regular water samples have been very low, which is good news. Even the bloom sample numbers were very low compared to blooms of former years. The samples show mainly microcystis as the dominant cyanobacteria. This is one of the three cyanobacteria that have always been seen in White Pond for the last five years of testing. But in the past, microcystis has always been either not seen in samples or has been a very, very distant second or third to other species. Usually, dolichospermum is dominant in the spring or summer, with microcystis and woronichinia as minor players. Then, woronichinia is dominant at the end of summer into fall with the other two very minor or not there at all.
Another finding in the samples is the dearth of zooplankton. Zooplankton eat cyanobacteria, but young fish eat the zooplankton, and will continue to eat it if there are not enough smaller fish to eat. Rainbow trout will eat zooplankton any time, which is another reason why we question the stocking of the pond with that species, especially if the numbers of anglers is diminishing. If the pond isn’t being fished as much as in years past, perhaps the fish population is larger than usual, causing the shortage of zooplankton.
The White Pond Advisory Committee looks forward to working on water quality, fish stocking, and other issues with the town, the state, and the watershed community after the very successful inaugural season of the town beach.
Concord Town Manager’s Report
Chris Whelan
The restoration project at White Pond is progressing well. In accordance with recommendations from the White Pond Watershed Management to improve and maintain water quality at White Pond, the Town has engaged a contractor to complete a comprehensive slope restoration project at Sachem’s Cove. The intent of the project is to provide better directed access points to Sachem’s Cove, and reduce foot traffic on erodible slopes, to reduce sediment and pollutant loading into the pond. Sumco EcoContracting has replaced two sets of dilapidated concrete steps with timber steps, and installed a third set of timber steps in a popular access point that had been severely eroding. New post and rail fencing have been installed to direct visitors to appropriate access points, and loam and seed has been brought in to stabilize eroded slopes. Some native plantings at the tops and bottom of slope have been installed; the remainder will be planted this fall.
By and For the Friends of White Pond
Town Beach Update
Ryan Kane, Concord Recreation Department
Beach Report: The Concord Recreation Department experienced a successful first year in managing the White Pond beach. The beach, still in process of being gifted from the White Pond Associates, operated for the 2019 season from June 29 to August 25. Six-hundred fifty household passes were sold, reaching that capacity in early June, and those pass holders visited the beach a combined 6,279 times. Additionally, the members brought approximately 500 guests (458 logged with a few days on business still not entered into our system) and the beach also experienced approximately 100 day-pass users (88 logged with a few days of business still not entered).
Algae: The Concord Recreation team worked closely with the Concord Board of Health on evaluating the water conditions at the beach. Even though we were closed for Day One, ultimately the beach experienced a healthy summer and only closed for a total of 5 days (3 full days and 4 half days). The town of Concord Facilities and Recreation team have made a commitment to taking steps to better the effect of the beach on the pond, most of which were successfully put into operation this summer and some that are in process for this fall. Improvements are listed below;
· Placed a Port-o-potty at fishing ramp that will be available year round (up on hill in winter).
· Purchased and utilized a restroom trailer, eliminating the need for Septic based restrooms
· Installed a stone drain system at the end of the driveway entering the beach area to assist with run off down the hill
· Coming in Fall, installation of Construction silt fence and hay along the hillside to help reduce run off.
Future: The town is currently in contract with Weston and Sampson engineering firm to design a Master Plan for the facility. The Recreation team recently sent out an evaluation survey to the beach members and will utilize the results in reviewing operating procedures for the Summer 2020.
Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three
Kate Blair
On a cool but sunny August afternoon, the Friends of White Pond testing team, Dr. William Walker, Joe Rogers, and Katy Blair, walked the short distance from Katy’s house to Carmen’s porch on Shore Drive to pick up their equipment: a Secchi disk; a view scope to aid under-water vision; a depth meter; a dissolved oxygen and temperature gauge; oars; life jackets; the boat registration; anchors; and data sheets. They walked down the steep steps to the little white boat stowed on the narrow beach, loaded up, and headed out to take the weekly and monthly measurements that Dr. Walker had initiated in the 1980’s.
Joe rowed across the green-blue pond to “Site One,” one of the deep holes in the pond and our designated testing spot for dipping the Secchi disk to measure depth of clarity and lowering the oximeter to track oxygen and temperature changes. After throwing in and securing the anchors against a west wind and choppy waves, the team recorded oxygen and temperature levels indicating a shrinkage of the algae layer, and detectable dissolved oxygen remaining at the pond’s bottom, all positive signs. However, the clarity was shallow at 17’- 4,” and Katy noted a distinct “pondy” odor from the water.
Katy recorded all these findings on the appropriate data sheets, which she would later email to the White Pond Advisory Committee, Susan Rask at the Department of Health, and Delia Kaye, at the Department of Natural Resources. Dr. Walker would in turn upload the data to his website.
As the team rowed back, they decided to publish an end of summer Ponderings to update the folks in the watershed concerned about the algae and the health of the pond.This edition focuses on some of those questions and concerns that citizens have expressed during the course of the summer. We take our caps off to the editor emeritus, Judith Sprott, who inaugurated Ponderings almost thirty years ago after the founding of the Friends of White Pond in 1987. Dr. Walker has been assisted by many different volunteers, including Judith and her husband George.
Thanks to all who have participated over the years.
For testing data, please visit Dr. Bill Walker’s web site: http://www.wwwalker.net/whitepond/
Algae Testing
Carmen Jaquier, Chair, White Pond Advisory Committee
It has been a very active algae bloom year in other places in Massachusetts, per Hilary Snook of the EPA Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaboration. But we have been lucky at White Pond, with only five beach closings so far this year.
Observing and testing while rowing around the pond, that the Department of Natural Resource’s erosion control in the cove area might have had a significant positive influence on the health of the pond this year. (Please see the Town Manager’s report below). Coir logs and fencing helped to keep erosion at bay and encouraged the public to stay off the cove’s banks. Signage educated dog owners about the dangers of cyanobacteria, and rangers patrolled the reservation land to discourage swimmers. The environmental consulting group, ESS, wrote in their report of several years ago that runoff is the chief cause of blooms for White Pond, and the DNR’s efforts to mitigate the problem may have proven that hypothesis.
Another thing I have noticed this year is a new murkiness to the water. Ann Boudrot, the waterfront director of the Town Beach, agreed. The Secchi disk clarity depths have been shallower than in other years. And residents have noted that the water is almost an opaque green instead of the past years’ clear blue.
My testing protocol is weekly, at the same location where the Friends of White Pond test. I take two water samples at prescribed depths, also noting the weather conditions, wind, directions, temperature, etc. One sample is taken with a net and the other with a weighted tube. The tube gets everything in the water column, as the net might miss some of the smallest particles. These samples are processed fresh using a fluorometer and different filters and protocols. Slides are made from some of the samples and a sampling of the zooplankton from the net sample is preserved in dated tubes. All the water samples read are then frozen and, in the fall, when the season is over, they are thawed, read, and noted on the same log sheets as their accompanying fresh samples.
I then row the shoreline of the pond to see what is happening: murkiness, blooms, conditions in general. If there is a bloom, I take a surface grab from the boat and go through the same processing, making both fresh and frozen samples. Starting in 2018, I have been sending copies of the log sheets and slides to Susan Rask, head of Concord’s Health Department. Susan has been very active in monitoring the pond and calling the state when she feels it is needed for safety of pond users.
This year, the algae number readings from the fluorometer on the regular water samples have been very low, which is good news. Even the bloom sample numbers were very low compared to blooms of former years. The samples show mainly microcystis as the dominant cyanobacteria. This is one of the three cyanobacteria that have always been seen in White Pond for the last five years of testing. But in the past, microcystis has always been either not seen in samples or has been a very, very distant second or third to other species. Usually, dolichospermum is dominant in the spring or summer, with microcystis and woronichinia as minor players. Then, woronichinia is dominant at the end of summer into fall with the other two very minor or not there at all.
Another finding in the samples is the dearth of zooplankton. Zooplankton eat cyanobacteria, but young fish eat the zooplankton, and will continue to eat it if there are not enough smaller fish to eat. Rainbow trout will eat zooplankton any time, which is another reason why we question the stocking of the pond with that species, especially if the numbers of anglers is diminishing. If the pond isn’t being fished as much as in years past, perhaps the fish population is larger than usual, causing the shortage of zooplankton.
The White Pond Advisory Committee looks forward to working on water quality, fish stocking, and other issues with the town, the state, and the watershed community after the very successful inaugural season of the town beach.
Concord Town Manager’s Report
Chris Whelan
The restoration project at White Pond is progressing well. In accordance with recommendations from the White Pond Watershed Management to improve and maintain water quality at White Pond, the Town has engaged a contractor to complete a comprehensive slope restoration project at Sachem’s Cove. The intent of the project is to provide better directed access points to Sachem’s Cove, and reduce foot traffic on erodible slopes, to reduce sediment and pollutant loading into the pond. Sumco EcoContracting has replaced two sets of dilapidated concrete steps with timber steps, and installed a third set of timber steps in a popular access point that had been severely eroding. New post and rail fencing have been installed to direct visitors to appropriate access points, and loam and seed has been brought in to stabilize eroded slopes. Some native plantings at the tops and bottom of slope have been installed; the remainder will be planted this fall.
SEPTEMBER 2019 VOLUME 25
By and For the Friends of White Pond
Town Beach Update
Ryan Kane, Concord Recreation Department
Beach Report: The Concord Recreation Department experienced a successful first year in managing the White Pond beach. The beach, still in process of being gifted from the White Pond Associates, operated for the 2019 season from June 29 to August 25. Six-hundred fifty household passes were sold, reaching that capacity in early June, and those pass holders visited the beach a combined 6,279 times. Additionally, the members brought approximately 500 guests (458 logged with a few days on business still not entered into our system) and the beach also experienced approximately 100 day-pass users (88 logged with a few days of business still not entered).
Algae: The Concord Recreation team worked closely with the Concord Board of Health on evaluating the water conditions at the beach. Even though we were closed for Day One, ultimately the beach experienced a healthy summer and only closed for a total of 5 days (3 full days and 4 half days). The town of Concord Facilities and Recreation team have made a commitment to taking steps to better the effect of the beach on the pond, most of which were successfully put into operation this summer and some that are in process for this fall. Improvements are listed below;
· Placed a Port-o-potty at fishing ramp that will be available year round (up on hill in winter).
· Purchased and utilized a restroom trailer, eliminating the need for Septic based restrooms
· Installed a stone drain system at the end of the driveway entering the beach area to assist with run off down the hill
· Coming in Fall, installation of Construction silt fence and hay along the hillside to help reduce run off.
Future: The town is currently in contract with Weston and Sampson engineering firm to design a Master Plan for the facility. The Recreation team recently sent out an evaluation survey to the beach members and will utilize the results in reviewing operating procedures for the Summer 2020.
Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three
Kate Blair
On a cool but sunny August afternoon, the Friends of White Pond testing team, Dr. William Walker, Joe Rogers, and Katy Blair, walked the short distance from Katy’s house to Carmen’s porch on Shore Drive to pick up their equipment: a Secchi disk; a view scope to aid under-water vision; a depth meter; a dissolved oxygen and temperature gauge; oars; life jackets; the boat registration; anchors; and data sheets. They walked down the steep steps to the little white boat stowed on the narrow beach, loaded up, and headed out to take the weekly and monthly measurements that Dr. Walker had initiated in the 1980’s.
Joe rowed across the green-blue pond to “Site One,” one of the deep holes in the pond and our designated testing spot for dipping the Secchi disk to measure depth of clarity and lowering the oximeter to track oxygen and temperature changes. After throwing in and securing the anchors against a west wind and choppy waves, the team recorded oxygen and temperature levels indicating a shrinkage of the algae layer, and detectable dissolved oxygen remaining at the pond’s bottom, all positive signs. However, the clarity was shallow at 17’- 4,” and Katy noted a distinct “pondy” odor from the water.
Katy recorded all these findings on the appropriate data sheets, which she would later email to the White Pond Advisory Committee, Susan Rask at the Department of Health, and Delia Kaye, at the Department of Natural Resources. Dr. Walker would in turn upload the data to his website.
As the team rowed back, they decided to publish an end of summer Ponderings to update the folks in the watershed concerned about the algae and the health of the pond.This edition focuses on some of those questions and concerns that citizens have expressed during the course of the summer. We take our caps off to the editor emeritus, Judith Sprott, who inaugurated Ponderings almost thirty years ago after the founding of the Friends of White Pond in 1987. Dr. Walker has been assisted by many different volunteers, including Judith and her husband George.
Thanks to all who have participated over the years.
For testing data, please visit Dr. Bill Walker’s web site: http://www.wwwalker.net/whitepond/
Algae Testing
Carmen Jaquier, Chair, White Pond Advisory Committee
It has been a very active algae bloom year in other places in Massachusetts, per Hilary Snook of the EPA Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaboration. But we have been lucky at White Pond, with only five beach closings so far this year.
Observing and testing while rowing around the pond, that the Department of Natural Resource’s erosion control in the cove area might have had a significant positive influence on the health of the pond this year. (Please see the Town Manager’s report below). Coir logs and fencing helped to keep erosion at bay and encouraged the public to stay off the cove’s banks. Signage educated dog owners about the dangers of cyanobacteria, and rangers patrolled the reservation land to discourage swimmers. The environmental consulting group, ESS, wrote in their report of several years ago that runoff is the chief cause of blooms for White Pond, and the DNR’s efforts to mitigate the problem may have proven that hypothesis.
Another thing I have noticed this year is a new murkiness to the water. Ann Boudrot, the waterfront director of the Town Beach, agreed. The Secchi disk clarity depths have been shallower than in other years. And residents have noted that the water is almost an opaque green instead of the past years’ clear blue.
My testing protocol is weekly, at the same location where the Friends of White Pond test. I take two water samples at prescribed depths, also noting the weather conditions, wind, directions, temperature, etc. One sample is taken with a net and the other with a weighted tube. The tube gets everything in the water column, as the net might miss some of the smallest particles. These samples are processed fresh using a fluorometer and different filters and protocols. Slides are made from some of the samples and a sampling of the zooplankton from the net sample is preserved in dated tubes. All the water samples read are then frozen and, in the fall, when the season is over, they are thawed, read, and noted on the same log sheets as their accompanying fresh samples.
I then row the shoreline of the pond to see what is happening: murkiness, blooms, conditions in general. If there is a bloom, I take a surface grab from the boat and go through the same processing, making both fresh and frozen samples. Starting in 2018, I have been sending copies of the log sheets and slides to Susan Rask, head of Concord’s Health Department. Susan has been very active in monitoring the pond and calling the state when she feels it is needed for safety of pond users.
This year, the algae number readings from the fluorometer on the regular water samples have been very low, which is good news. Even the bloom sample numbers were very low compared to blooms of former years. The samples show mainly microcystis as the dominant cyanobacteria. This is one of the three cyanobacteria that have always been seen in White Pond for the last five years of testing. But in the past, microcystis has always been either not seen in samples or has been a very, very distant second or third to other species. Usually, dolichospermum is dominant in the spring or summer, with microcystis and woronichinia as minor players. Then, woronichinia is dominant at the end of summer into fall with the other two very minor or not there at all.
Another finding in the samples is the dearth of zooplankton. Zooplankton eat cyanobacteria, but young fish eat the zooplankton, and will continue to eat it if there are not enough smaller fish to eat. Rainbow trout will eat zooplankton any time, which is another reason why we question the stocking of the pond with that species, especially if the numbers of anglers is diminishing. If the pond isn’t being fished as much as in years past, perhaps the fish population is larger than usual, causing the shortage of zooplankton.
The White Pond Advisory Committee looks forward to working on water quality, fish stocking, and other issues with the town, the state, and the watershed community after the very successful inaugural season of the town beach.
Concord Town Manager’s Report
Chris Whelan
The restoration project at White Pond is progressing well. In accordance with recommendations from the White Pond Watershed Management to improve and maintain water quality at White Pond, the Town has engaged a contractor to complete a comprehensive slope restoration project at Sachem’s Cove. The intent of the project is to provide better directed access points to Sachem’s Cove, and reduce foot traffic on erodible slopes, to reduce sediment and pollutant loading into the pond. Sumco EcoContracting has replaced two sets of dilapidated concrete steps with timber steps, and installed a third set of timber steps in a popular access point that had been severely eroding. New post and rail fencing have been installed to direct visitors to appropriate access points, and loam and seed has been brought in to stabilize eroded slopes. Some native plantings at the tops and bottom of slope have been installed; the remainder will be planted this fall.
By and For the Friends of White Pond
Town Beach Update
Ryan Kane, Concord Recreation Department
Beach Report: The Concord Recreation Department experienced a successful first year in managing the White Pond beach. The beach, still in process of being gifted from the White Pond Associates, operated for the 2019 season from June 29 to August 25. Six-hundred fifty household passes were sold, reaching that capacity in early June, and those pass holders visited the beach a combined 6,279 times. Additionally, the members brought approximately 500 guests (458 logged with a few days on business still not entered into our system) and the beach also experienced approximately 100 day-pass users (88 logged with a few days of business still not entered).
Algae: The Concord Recreation team worked closely with the Concord Board of Health on evaluating the water conditions at the beach. Even though we were closed for Day One, ultimately the beach experienced a healthy summer and only closed for a total of 5 days (3 full days and 4 half days). The town of Concord Facilities and Recreation team have made a commitment to taking steps to better the effect of the beach on the pond, most of which were successfully put into operation this summer and some that are in process for this fall. Improvements are listed below;
· Placed a Port-o-potty at fishing ramp that will be available year round (up on hill in winter).
· Purchased and utilized a restroom trailer, eliminating the need for Septic based restrooms
· Installed a stone drain system at the end of the driveway entering the beach area to assist with run off down the hill
· Coming in Fall, installation of Construction silt fence and hay along the hillside to help reduce run off.
Future: The town is currently in contract with Weston and Sampson engineering firm to design a Master Plan for the facility. The Recreation team recently sent out an evaluation survey to the beach members and will utilize the results in reviewing operating procedures for the Summer 2020.
Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three
Kate Blair
On a cool but sunny August afternoon, the Friends of White Pond testing team, Dr. William Walker, Joe Rogers, and Katy Blair, walked the short distance from Katy’s house to Carmen’s porch on Shore Drive to pick up their equipment: a Secchi disk; a view scope to aid under-water vision; a depth meter; a dissolved oxygen and temperature gauge; oars; life jackets; the boat registration; anchors; and data sheets. They walked down the steep steps to the little white boat stowed on the narrow beach, loaded up, and headed out to take the weekly and monthly measurements that Dr. Walker had initiated in the 1980’s.
Joe rowed across the green-blue pond to “Site One,” one of the deep holes in the pond and our designated testing spot for dipping the Secchi disk to measure depth of clarity and lowering the oximeter to track oxygen and temperature changes. After throwing in and securing the anchors against a west wind and choppy waves, the team recorded oxygen and temperature levels indicating a shrinkage of the algae layer, and detectable dissolved oxygen remaining at the pond’s bottom, all positive signs. However, the clarity was shallow at 17’- 4,” and Katy noted a distinct “pondy” odor from the water.
Katy recorded all these findings on the appropriate data sheets, which she would later email to the White Pond Advisory Committee, Susan Rask at the Department of Health, and Delia Kaye, at the Department of Natural Resources. Dr. Walker would in turn upload the data to his website.
As the team rowed back, they decided to publish an end of summer Ponderings to update the folks in the watershed concerned about the algae and the health of the pond.This edition focuses on some of those questions and concerns that citizens have expressed during the course of the summer. We take our caps off to the editor emeritus, Judith Sprott, who inaugurated Ponderings almost thirty years ago after the founding of the Friends of White Pond in 1987. Dr. Walker has been assisted by many different volunteers, including Judith and her husband George.
Thanks to all who have participated over the years.
For testing data, please visit Dr. Bill Walker’s web site: http://www.wwwalker.net/whitepond/
Algae Testing
Carmen Jaquier, Chair, White Pond Advisory Committee
It has been a very active algae bloom year in other places in Massachusetts, per Hilary Snook of the EPA Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaboration. But we have been lucky at White Pond, with only five beach closings so far this year.
Observing and testing while rowing around the pond, that the Department of Natural Resource’s erosion control in the cove area might have had a significant positive influence on the health of the pond this year. (Please see the Town Manager’s report below). Coir logs and fencing helped to keep erosion at bay and encouraged the public to stay off the cove’s banks. Signage educated dog owners about the dangers of cyanobacteria, and rangers patrolled the reservation land to discourage swimmers. The environmental consulting group, ESS, wrote in their report of several years ago that runoff is the chief cause of blooms for White Pond, and the DNR’s efforts to mitigate the problem may have proven that hypothesis.
Another thing I have noticed this year is a new murkiness to the water. Ann Boudrot, the waterfront director of the Town Beach, agreed. The Secchi disk clarity depths have been shallower than in other years. And residents have noted that the water is almost an opaque green instead of the past years’ clear blue.
My testing protocol is weekly, at the same location where the Friends of White Pond test. I take two water samples at prescribed depths, also noting the weather conditions, wind, directions, temperature, etc. One sample is taken with a net and the other with a weighted tube. The tube gets everything in the water column, as the net might miss some of the smallest particles. These samples are processed fresh using a fluorometer and different filters and protocols. Slides are made from some of the samples and a sampling of the zooplankton from the net sample is preserved in dated tubes. All the water samples read are then frozen and, in the fall, when the season is over, they are thawed, read, and noted on the same log sheets as their accompanying fresh samples.
I then row the shoreline of the pond to see what is happening: murkiness, blooms, conditions in general. If there is a bloom, I take a surface grab from the boat and go through the same processing, making both fresh and frozen samples. Starting in 2018, I have been sending copies of the log sheets and slides to Susan Rask, head of Concord’s Health Department. Susan has been very active in monitoring the pond and calling the state when she feels it is needed for safety of pond users.
This year, the algae number readings from the fluorometer on the regular water samples have been very low, which is good news. Even the bloom sample numbers were very low compared to blooms of former years. The samples show mainly microcystis as the dominant cyanobacteria. This is one of the three cyanobacteria that have always been seen in White Pond for the last five years of testing. But in the past, microcystis has always been either not seen in samples or has been a very, very distant second or third to other species. Usually, dolichospermum is dominant in the spring or summer, with microcystis and woronichinia as minor players. Then, woronichinia is dominant at the end of summer into fall with the other two very minor or not there at all.
Another finding in the samples is the dearth of zooplankton. Zooplankton eat cyanobacteria, but young fish eat the zooplankton, and will continue to eat it if there are not enough smaller fish to eat. Rainbow trout will eat zooplankton any time, which is another reason why we question the stocking of the pond with that species, especially if the numbers of anglers is diminishing. If the pond isn’t being fished as much as in years past, perhaps the fish population is larger than usual, causing the shortage of zooplankton.
The White Pond Advisory Committee looks forward to working on water quality, fish stocking, and other issues with the town, the state, and the watershed community after the very successful inaugural season of the town beach.
Concord Town Manager’s Report
Chris Whelan
The restoration project at White Pond is progressing well. In accordance with recommendations from the White Pond Watershed Management to improve and maintain water quality at White Pond, the Town has engaged a contractor to complete a comprehensive slope restoration project at Sachem’s Cove. The intent of the project is to provide better directed access points to Sachem’s Cove, and reduce foot traffic on erodible slopes, to reduce sediment and pollutant loading into the pond. Sumco EcoContracting has replaced two sets of dilapidated concrete steps with timber steps, and installed a third set of timber steps in a popular access point that had been severely eroding. New post and rail fencing have been installed to direct visitors to appropriate access points, and loam and seed has been brought in to stabilize eroded slopes. Some native plantings at the tops and bottom of slope have been installed; the remainder will be planted this fall.