2010 Environmental Findings
Our work during the spring/summer/fall of 2010 provided the groundwork for a better understanding of the health of the lake and revealed the need for further testing and sampling. Through the help of dedicated volunteers and environmental scientists, we had enough data to see that there was a potential for pollution in the lake - especially after big storms. At the end of the summer, the level of oxygen seemed quite low in Crystal Lake which could jeopardize fish life at the bottom of the lake. We also learned that a potential source of damaging pollution entering Crystal Lake may be through the eight storm drains that empty into the lake. We were able to map out the storm run off system and the related outfalls into Crystal Lake. Pollution from lawn fertilizers, animal wastes, and other sources was running off of hard surfaces into the storm drains and quickly depositing into the lake by the end of the day. We also learned via soil sample analysis that the watershed has different types of soils that may or may not be conducive to filtering harmful components before entering the Lake (It would be far more beneficial if the runoff were allowed to sink and travel slowly through permeable ground, naturally filtering out the polutants by taking a longer course of days or weeks to reach the lake0.
Limnologist Larry Beals' presentation on lake findings at the 2010 CLC Annual Meeeting is shown below:
| beals_presentation_to_clc_annual_forum_10_6_2010.pdf |
The second spreaker at the 2010 Annual Meeting, Fred Civian, Stormwater Coordinator for Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection, provided guidance on the impacts of stormwater runoff and ideas to minimize these impacts:
| fcivian_fuss_about_stormwater_10_6_2010.pdf |