Lake group receives $2,000 for monitoring equipment

WINSTED — The Highland Lake Watershed Association received a $2,000 grant that has allowed the group to purchase new lake monitoring equipment.

The grant was awarded to the association by the Winsted-based Alcoa Howmet.

The company, which makes precision-machined turbine airfoils for the aerospace and industrial gas turbine industries, officially presented the grant to the association during a special ceremony last Friday, Sept. 4, at Resha Beach.

Clare Stevens, a member of the association’s board of directors, said the new equipment will allow the group to more precisely measure the lake’s oxygen levels and temperature changes.

Stevens said last Friday that careful
monitoring of the lake will allow the association to more accurately track and map its overall health, while also empowering
members to “act preventatively� to protect its water quality.

Over the last few years,  residents have become increasingly concerned with preserving and improving Highland’s long-term health.

At the association’s annual meeting in July,  water management consultant Dr. George Knoecklein, a limnologist from Mansfield Center, told residents that although the lake’s current water quality is good, data collected over the last several years indicates the body of water is moving toward a tipping point that could lead to a sharp downturn in its overall water quality.

According to Knoecklein, the lake’s water clarity appears to be decreasing, while phosphorus levels appear to be increasing — both trends that, if not stabilized or reversed, could spell bad news for the future health of the lake.

“And so, this is a real blessing to have this up-to-date monitoring equipment,� she said.

The Journal will have a comprehensive piece on the health of Highland Lake and an overview of the association’s process of gathering its water quality data in next week’s issue.