Dear Friends of Lake Waramaug,
Spring and summer promise to be exciting seasons on Lake Waramaug. The ice has melted, the docks are in and soon the boats will arrive! The State Park will come alive with campers, kayakers and swimmers. (And, I for one, love the smell of the camp fires on summer evenings!)
The homes around the lake will be busy with family and friends, all of whom come to see our magnificent lake and enjoy its beauty.
Each year brings hope for great weather, family gatherings and a sense of community as we all help in some way to preserve our great lake. The Task Force will once again be deploying all of our resources to keep our lake as pristine as possible. Each year the Task Force Executive Director, Sean Hayden, and his dedicated staff place teams of scientists, divers, plant harvesters and monitoring equipment on the lake to check its clarity, health, bacteria levels and for the presence of invasive weeds. With the help of the boat inspection program, a new level of cooperation at the State Park, the private clubs and the three towns around the lake, we are hopeful for a very successful year.
In this newsletter you will find articles written about a few of the scientists who monitor the lake. Their work reflects the attention they devote to inspecting the lake for clarity and quality each week of the season. This monitoring and the use of the aerators near Washington Beach and Arrow Point are critical to achieve one goal: to help our lake fight against the environmental obstacles it faces each year.
This year and in the future, the Task Force will be placing greater emphasis on water quality in the feeder streams and on the environmental issues affecting the lake in the watershed. According to our scientific teams the watershed is where the Task Force and the local town governing bodies can do the most good for the lake’s health now and in the future. Pollution and sediment filled runoff from the watershed area, even five miles away, will continue to cause significant negative issues for Lake Waramaug if we do not address them at this moment in time.
None of these initiatives can be undertaken without the continued support of our local communities. The Task Force is deeply grateful for the donors who support its efforts every year. Without the strength of this backing, Lake Waramaug would not be the exceptional resource that it is today.
On behalf of the Task Force Board, I wish you and your family a great season on what can only be described as one of the most beautiful places.
Mike Guadagno
Chair, Lake Waramaug Task Force