Notices/Announcements

Summer Lake Health

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The beginning of summer marks a time when we pay particular emphasis to the health of our lake.

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·        Solitude Lake Management tests our water twice a year as to whether it requires an herbicide or algaecide treatment.   This usually happens in early June or late September.  Last year, an herbicide treatment was applied by solitude on 7/28/2022 to reduce nuisance plant growth. Per Solitude: “It is advised that people stay out of the water on the day of treatment so that they don't interfere with treatment.  However, there are no water use restrictions and the water is safe to use as intended.”

 

Based on an evaluation from SOLitude Lake Management, we have decided not to do an herbicide treatment at this time.  We will continue to monitor our lake's health for the potential need for any future treatment.

 

·        Microbac Laboratories tests our 2 beaches and 2 spillways for E-coli twice a year. Last year, testing was done on 7/15/2022 and 8/22/2022.  The results of all tests last year were well within safe limits.  Full test results are on our website (https://www.wwlake.com/lake-reports).

 

·        Fish Kill (seeing a large number of dead fish at the shore) is a fairly common occurrence in spring.   From the CT DEEP, “As the water temperature begins to warm up, fish move into shoreline areas to spawn.  Spawning-related activities require a lot of energy and weaken the fish making them susceptible to other environmental factors that non-stressed fish would most likely survive. “ 

 

·        Blue-Green Algae – From the CT DEEP: “Cyanobacteria occur naturally in the environment, but under certain conditions, they can multiply rapidly and create a harmful bloom that is detrimental to the body of water and all those who use it. Two conditions that can lead to a cyanobacteria bloom are excess nutrients and warm water temperatures.” 

 

Also, from the CT DEEP and local water experts, one of the major sources of excess nutrients that can trigger a bloom is the lawn and agricultural fertilizers.   The lake’s rules and ordinances under HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (https://www.wwlake.com/rules-and-ordinances), state “It is strongly recommended that homeowners refrain from using chemical fertilizers, weed killers, and pesticides on their properties.”  Also included in the ordinance is the request to “retain lakeside natural vegetation, trees, shrubs, and other similar growth”.  Doing this reduces runoff, which also contributes to excess nutrients entering the lake.

 

After many years without algae blooms, we had a blue-green algae problem late in the summer of 2020. It's possible that our fertilizer use is negatively affecting our water quality.

·        Questions or Concerns – If you have any questions or concerns, please send them to:  lake-dam-beaches@wwlake.com.  Pictures are always helpful.  In addition to Solitude and Microbac, we are fortunate to have access to local water experts who can help us with such things as expediting water testing.