LAKEVILLE — The first returns are in on the sampling and monitoring of Lake Wononscopomuc water quality and the results are somewhat surprising, according to Don Mayland, the new Wononscopomuc Lake Keeper.
“The phosphorus readings and other survey samples indicate the lake is in an early mesotrophic state,� Mayland told the association’s spring meeting Saturday, May 30. That is somewhat better than what many people expected, given the development around the lake over the past 50 years.
There are three basic classifications of lake water quality: ranging from oligotrophic (pristine), mesotrophic (healthy with some problems) and eutrophic (almost dead).
“These are early samples and we have to keep looking,� Mayland said.“We are taking these readings throughout the year to set a baseline so we will be able to judge in future years whether the lake environment is improving or deteriorating.�
Mayland plans to take readings of dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll visibility, water temperature at various levels and look for evidence of zebra mussels, hydrilla and other invasive species.
One finding was a lower-than-expected oxygen level in the deep part of the lake. That could lead to a decrease in the size of some fish, he warned, noting that really big trout can’t survive in oxygen-deficient deep water.
“The oxygen depletion is nothing new,� Mayland said. “Years ago, about 20, there was an attempt to deal with it with a hypolimnetic withdrawal system. It didn’t prove successful, however. Fishermen have long known of the low oxygen levels in the deep water.�
Mayland has done scuba diving in both Wononscopomuc and Twin Lakes this spring.
“Visibility is much better in Twin Lakes, but that could be because there are zebra mussels,� he said. “The zebra mussels eat the plankton, but that is food the fish population needs.�
Mayland did not find any evidence of zebra mussels in Wononscopomuc. However, he said there are large balls of algae growing in the water. As the balls fill with gas they break apart and float toward shore. It is an annual phenomenon and he said the algae should dissipate quickly.
Another invasive weed has been found in nearby Massachusetts. It is called hydrilla.
Mayland warned lake users to watch out for this weed and report it to the association if they suspect they have seen it. Hydrilla can literally choke a lake.
“Hydrilla is so bad it would make Eurasian milfoil look like a pleasant neighbor,� he said.
As part of the program a new detailed watershed map is being prepared so the community can evaluate what problems may develop in the future. It will show how many lots can be subdivided, how much construction could be undertaken and how much property is under conservation or other legal restrictions.
The Wononscopomuc Lake Keeper program is an educational and community project for the town of Salisbury and The Hotchkiss School. Mayland (who is a retired Hotchkiss teacher) will work with students from Salisbury Central School and Hotchkiss on pond and stream studies.
He has developed a program for more advanced students in the Hotchkiss summer school’s environmental science program — and he hopes to involve students from Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
A major goal of the program is to develop a basic lake management plan in time for the Lake Association’s annual meeting in late October.
Dick Hermans in the Oblong Bookstore on Millerton’s Main Street in 1985.Provided
Fall storage crop harvests amid soil building cover crops at Adamah Farm in Falls Village. Janna Siller 
