Dan's Papers - July 25, 2008 - Community Stirs Things Up At Lake Agawam

Lake Agawam has had its share of fish kills and malodorous moments. Historically, the lake was used as a fresh water source for the earliest settlers. But today, oil or dirt on the road, or fertilizers and pesticides on lawns and gardens - anything at a higher elevation than the lake - will flow into it during a heavy downpour. Street runoff comes from as far away as County Road 39, via storm drains connecting to pipes that lead into the lake. During one rainstorm last summer, a river flowed down Hill Street and past the movie theater while another lake formed on Windmill Lane. The storm drains could not handle the amount of water falling from the sky. Conditions in the lake and decreased oxygen levels make algae blooms in the summer commonplace. Combined with the runoff, it leaves the lake in an unhealthy state.

Help for the ecology of the lake is long overdue, even though many studies have been done.

Chic Voorhis is one of the lead consultants on the Lake Agawam study that has evaluated all the conditions leading to the problems presently plaguing the village's centerpiece. What he is most excited about is the action plan put into place for the lake, which includes a schedule of improvements, the assignments of the responsibilities for the work needed and a cost outline. This will define procedures and responsibilities for both the town and the village.

Voorhis feels that it is also "the public and private cooperation that make this study different" from all the previous ones that have been done on Lake Agawam. There are reams of information on the lake, but the Lake Agawam Association has been a big factor in the implementation and success of this new plan. The members helped fund the plan and they are involved stakeholders who own property around the lake and want to see the health of the lake improve. They will help carry the ball, and as interested residents, will keep the focus on the project. Once they see some success with their project, Voorhis hopes that this process can be a model for Old Town Pond and other water bodies in the village.

Nancy McGann agrees with Voorhis about public participation being integral to the planning process and eventual success of the plan. As a Village Trustee who wanted to make the lake a priority, she attended the Lake Agawam Association meeting last Saturday, and feels that the group is generating a lot of community excitement. She is delighted to see how committed residents are to contributing to the project, and is also excited to see how willingly they embrace re-vegetation and buffer planting - concepts that can help prevent fertilizers and other contaminants from reaching the lake. The village has sent out a pamphlet illustrating these ideas with a list of plants that can be used as bio-filters.

Other efforts are being made by the village to keep runoff out of the ponds. The Olde Town subdivision on the corner of Wickapogue Lane had $4-500 thousand allocated toward addressing runoff into Old Town Pond. An intern worked with Chic Voorhis to identify and evaluate the condition of all existing storm drains. Bubblers are in to increase aeration, and a potential rain garden may help address runoff from the south end parking lot. Jennifer Messiano, who works for the village, has been actively writing grant applications for projects like the drains on Hill Street that will help stem the flood past the movie theater, but the village really needs the input and cooperation of residents.

Another project McGann cited is to use the Community Preservation Fund purchase of the land at the corner of Windmill and Nugent streets as a drain field. Storm water can be redirected into a series of leaching fields that have filters to capture 98-99 percent of road oils and bacteria. These can be replaced every 18 months or so to ensure that the water that does reach the lake is cleaner. McGann hopes that in the future, filters will be developed that also take out nitrates. The main emphasis of the leaching fields will be to redirect water back into the ground versus allowing it all to dump out into the lake untreated. Funds are needed for this project, which, once installed, we would never see, and only requires some routine maintenance to keep the lake clean.

There is some controversy about one element of the study, which is the dredging of the bottom of the lake and removing the existing contaminants that have been dumped in there for decades. This part of the lake is governed by the Town Trustees, and some feel that stirring up the bottom may do more harm than good.