Griswold, Conn. —
Parks officials from the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection opened the dam at Pachaug Pond on Monday morning in the first step toward bringing the water level down to curb the growth of invasive, choking weeds.
The cranks began turning at the dam shortly before 8 a.m. Monday, DEEP district operations supervisor Scott Dawley said Monday. The pond is expected to be lowered by three feet by the end of the week, depending on the rate of drainage. The water level will be raised again in mid-April in hopes of getting the pond refilled in time for Memorial Day, said Art Christian, the supervising civil engineer for the DEEP Dam Safety section.
Pachaug Pond, like the town’s other three, is facing infestations of the shoreline weeds fanwort and milfoil. As was the case in the previous drawdowns of Ashland and Hopeville ponds in 2011 and Glasgo/Doaneville in 2010, the drawdown will lower the level of the water to expose the plants’ roots. The hope is that the plants will dry out this fall, freeze through to the roots in the winter and not return in the spring. The effectiveness of the drawdown, Christian said, depends on a cold, relatively dry winter without a lot of snow cover, which would insulate the plants. Drawdowns are recommended every three years for the health of the watershed.
Read more: Griswold's Pachaug Pond being lowered to kill weeds - Norwich, CT - The Bulletin http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x781380855/Griswolds-Pachaug-Pond-being-lowered-to-kill-weeds#ixzz29RxqE9Iv
Parks officials from the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection opened the dam at Pachaug Pond on Monday morning in the first step toward bringing the water level down to curb the growth of invasive, choking weeds.
The cranks began turning at the dam shortly before 8 a.m. Monday, DEEP district operations supervisor Scott Dawley said Monday. The pond is expected to be lowered by three feet by the end of the week, depending on the rate of drainage. The water level will be raised again in mid-April in hopes of getting the pond refilled in time for Memorial Day, said Art Christian, the supervising civil engineer for the DEEP Dam Safety section.
Pachaug Pond, like the town’s other three, is facing infestations of the shoreline weeds fanwort and milfoil. As was the case in the previous drawdowns of Ashland and Hopeville ponds in 2011 and Glasgo/Doaneville in 2010, the drawdown will lower the level of the water to expose the plants’ roots. The hope is that the plants will dry out this fall, freeze through to the roots in the winter and not return in the spring. The effectiveness of the drawdown, Christian said, depends on a cold, relatively dry winter without a lot of snow cover, which would insulate the plants. Drawdowns are recommended every three years for the health of the watershed.
Read more: Griswold's Pachaug Pond being lowered to kill weeds - Norwich, CT - The Bulletin http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x781380855/Griswolds-Pachaug-Pond-being-lowered-to-kill-weeds#ixzz29RxqE9Iv
