The pressures on Candlewood Lake
Lake's beauty attracts visitors and danger
By Robert Miller
Staff Writer
Updated: 08/29/2009 10:13:11 PM EDT
It's a Jekyll and Hyde Lake.
On a calm weekday morning Candlewood Lake is a beauty, with gulls wheeling overhead of a single white sailboat. There are cormorants fishing and a great blue heron sitting on a dock, closely observing the world going by.
The same lake, on a summer weekend from Memorial Day to after Labor Day, can be a crazy place.
By mid-morning on those days, the lake roars with power boats and personal watercraft gunning around -- a combination of a Wild West stampede and the Talladega Speedway.
"The message I hear is that people who live on the lake don't even bother to think about going out on the lake on weekends,'' said Sherman First Selectman Andrea O'Connor. "It's impossible.''
"Is it dangerous out there? I think so,'' said John Cumisky, owner of The Valley Angler in Danbury. "The good fishermen go out early and are off the lake by 10 a.m. on weekends.''
For a variety of reasons -- Candlewood's size, its accessibility to boaters in western Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, and its popularity as a bass fishery -- it can get really crowded. And more boats means more accidents. As a result, Candlewood is the lake that spawns the most boating accidents in the state.
A report the Candlewood Lake Authority completed in July begins by saying "there is considerable data confirming that Candlewood lake suffers from boating overcrowding and resulting user conflicts.''
It then goes on to say there are "legitimate fears'' those problems will only get worse.
The lake's Hyde side has been on full display over the past two years.
In July 2008, two boats collided late at night in the New Milford end of the lake. Two people were killed in the accident and three others were injured. A Department of Environmental Protection investigation said the pilot of one of the boats, Richard Layton of New Milford -- who died -- had been drinking at Down The Hatch, the only restaurant on the lake, that night before he and two passengers headed north in Layton's speedboat.
The DEP said Layton was intoxicated when the accident occurred.
And in July of this year, a boat with three people aboard slammed into Vaughn's Neck, the peninsula that stretches out into the lake, sending all three to the hospital. The DEP said the pilot of that boat, Thomas Assheton, of Bethel, was intoxicated.
Last month, the Candlewood Lake Authority compiled a report on the recreational pressures on the lake.
The report, filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, points out that between 1998 and 2007, there were 67 reported accidents on the lake. That's five to six more accidents than any other lake in the state, the report said.
And while there were occasional spikes in that rate -- there were 16 accidents reported to the DEP in 2004 -- most years have a steady rate of five or six.
There are reasons -- complex ones -- why the lake has so many boats.
Candlewood Lake, at 5,420 acres is more than twice the size of the second-biggest lake in the state -- Lake Lillinonah. Candlewood has more than 60 miles of shoreline, and 60 percent of it is developed.
The small summer cottages that used to line the lake have been replaced by large, expensive, year-round homes, with cars in the garage and boats on the lake.
Add five town boat launches, the public boat launches at Squantz Pond in New Fairfield and Lattin's Cove in Danbury, and the boats docked at several marinas on the lake, and you've got a crowd.
Candlewood is also one of the premier bass fishing spots in the United States, especially for smallmouth bass.
The DEP permits about 170 bass tournaments a year on the lake. In comparison, the DEP permits about 100 tournaments on the entire Connecticut River. The second most-popular lake -- Lake Lillinonah -- plays host to about 50 tournaments yearly.
All this traffic creates a choppy wash on weekends that makes the lake's waters harder still to boat on.
That chop, bouncing off the lake's narrows shores, is eroding the islands that sit in the center of the lake.
Larry Marsicano, executive director of the Candlewood Lake Authority, said it is trying to juggle all these interests while only favoring one -- protecting the lake, its water and shoreline and its beauty.
It's the weekday, Jekyll side.
"People of my background understand the ecology of the lake and they value that,'' said Marsicano, who is a limnologist -- a lake scientist -- by training. "Other people may not consider that.''
"But I've lived here since I was 19,'' Marsicano said. "It is a wonderful, wonderful recreational resource. It is a wonderful lake.''
Contact Robert Miller
at bmiller@newstimes.com
or at 203-731-3345.
Candlewood Lake: Created in the 1920s by Connecticut Light and Power Co., to power the Rocky River hydroelectric plant in New Milford. Plant began operation in 1928. Candlewood, at 5,420 acres, is the state's largest inland body of water. Bordered by five towns, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford and Sherman.
About 11 miles long. At its widest -- 2 miles. At its narrowest -- 500 feet. Has about 60 miles of shoreline. Average depth, about 30 feet. Maximum depth, 85 feet. Volume -- 7,500 million cubic feet. Boating accidents on Candlewood Lake: From 1995 to 2008, there were 68 accidents on Candlewood Lake that met federal reporting requirements, and three fatalities. Over the same period of time, there were 51 accidents and seven fatalities on all the other major lakes in western Connecticut. From 1995 to 2008, 64 people were injured in boating accidents on Candlewood Lake.
During the same period of time, there were 40 injuries in boating accidents on all the other state lakes in western Connecticut. From 1995 to 2008, there was $196,191 in property damage caused by accidents on Candlewood Lake. During the same period, there was $101,327 in damage on all the other western Connecticut lakes.
Lake's beauty attracts visitors and danger
By Robert Miller
Staff Writer
Updated: 08/29/2009 10:13:11 PM EDT
It's a Jekyll and Hyde Lake.
On a calm weekday morning Candlewood Lake is a beauty, with gulls wheeling overhead of a single white sailboat. There are cormorants fishing and a great blue heron sitting on a dock, closely observing the world going by.
The same lake, on a summer weekend from Memorial Day to after Labor Day, can be a crazy place.
By mid-morning on those days, the lake roars with power boats and personal watercraft gunning around -- a combination of a Wild West stampede and the Talladega Speedway.
"The message I hear is that people who live on the lake don't even bother to think about going out on the lake on weekends,'' said Sherman First Selectman Andrea O'Connor. "It's impossible.''
"Is it dangerous out there? I think so,'' said John Cumisky, owner of The Valley Angler in Danbury. "The good fishermen go out early and are off the lake by 10 a.m. on weekends.''
For a variety of reasons -- Candlewood's size, its accessibility to boaters in western Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, and its popularity as a bass fishery -- it can get really crowded. And more boats means more accidents. As a result, Candlewood is the lake that spawns the most boating accidents in the state.
A report the Candlewood Lake Authority completed in July begins by saying "there is considerable data confirming that Candlewood lake suffers from boating overcrowding and resulting user conflicts.''
It then goes on to say there are "legitimate fears'' those problems will only get worse.
The lake's Hyde side has been on full display over the past two years.
In July 2008, two boats collided late at night in the New Milford end of the lake. Two people were killed in the accident and three others were injured. A Department of Environmental Protection investigation said the pilot of one of the boats, Richard Layton of New Milford -- who died -- had been drinking at Down The Hatch, the only restaurant on the lake, that night before he and two passengers headed north in Layton's speedboat.
The DEP said Layton was intoxicated when the accident occurred.
And in July of this year, a boat with three people aboard slammed into Vaughn's Neck, the peninsula that stretches out into the lake, sending all three to the hospital. The DEP said the pilot of that boat, Thomas Assheton, of Bethel, was intoxicated.
Last month, the Candlewood Lake Authority compiled a report on the recreational pressures on the lake.
The report, filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, points out that between 1998 and 2007, there were 67 reported accidents on the lake. That's five to six more accidents than any other lake in the state, the report said.
And while there were occasional spikes in that rate -- there were 16 accidents reported to the DEP in 2004 -- most years have a steady rate of five or six.
There are reasons -- complex ones -- why the lake has so many boats.
Candlewood Lake, at 5,420 acres is more than twice the size of the second-biggest lake in the state -- Lake Lillinonah. Candlewood has more than 60 miles of shoreline, and 60 percent of it is developed.
The small summer cottages that used to line the lake have been replaced by large, expensive, year-round homes, with cars in the garage and boats on the lake.
Add five town boat launches, the public boat launches at Squantz Pond in New Fairfield and Lattin's Cove in Danbury, and the boats docked at several marinas on the lake, and you've got a crowd.
Candlewood is also one of the premier bass fishing spots in the United States, especially for smallmouth bass.
The DEP permits about 170 bass tournaments a year on the lake. In comparison, the DEP permits about 100 tournaments on the entire Connecticut River. The second most-popular lake -- Lake Lillinonah -- plays host to about 50 tournaments yearly.
All this traffic creates a choppy wash on weekends that makes the lake's waters harder still to boat on.
That chop, bouncing off the lake's narrows shores, is eroding the islands that sit in the center of the lake.
Larry Marsicano, executive director of the Candlewood Lake Authority, said it is trying to juggle all these interests while only favoring one -- protecting the lake, its water and shoreline and its beauty.
It's the weekday, Jekyll side.
"People of my background understand the ecology of the lake and they value that,'' said Marsicano, who is a limnologist -- a lake scientist -- by training. "Other people may not consider that.''
"But I've lived here since I was 19,'' Marsicano said. "It is a wonderful, wonderful recreational resource. It is a wonderful lake.''
Contact Robert Miller
at bmiller@newstimes.com
or at 203-731-3345.
Candlewood Lake: Created in the 1920s by Connecticut Light and Power Co., to power the Rocky River hydroelectric plant in New Milford. Plant began operation in 1928. Candlewood, at 5,420 acres, is the state's largest inland body of water. Bordered by five towns, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford and Sherman.
About 11 miles long. At its widest -- 2 miles. At its narrowest -- 500 feet. Has about 60 miles of shoreline. Average depth, about 30 feet. Maximum depth, 85 feet. Volume -- 7,500 million cubic feet. Boating accidents on Candlewood Lake: From 1995 to 2008, there were 68 accidents on Candlewood Lake that met federal reporting requirements, and three fatalities. Over the same period of time, there were 51 accidents and seven fatalities on all the other major lakes in western Connecticut. From 1995 to 2008, 64 people were injured in boating accidents on Candlewood Lake.
During the same period of time, there were 40 injuries in boating accidents on all the other state lakes in western Connecticut. From 1995 to 2008, there was $196,191 in property damage caused by accidents on Candlewood Lake. During the same period, there was $101,327 in damage on all the other western Connecticut lakes.
