WASK Meets To Decide Hatch Pond's Future

KENT — A report from a limnologist will be the subject of discussion at the next meeting of the Watershed Alliance of South Kent (WASK) Saturday, Feb. 3, 10 a.m. at the South Kent School.

WASK has been in existence for 12 years, according to spokeswoman Jeanne Anderson. The group was formed to address the increasing eutrophication of the pond.

In 2003 the group received a grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection to repair a dam at the south end of the pond, and a partial grant to pay for a study by limnologist George Knocklein.

That report is now completed. Anderson said it confirms what the group already believed.

"He says he’s never seen a pond in such bad shape in Connecticut," said Anderson.

Eutrophication occurs when an ecosystem is over-enriched with nutrients, especially compounds containing phosporus or nitrogen. A eutrophic pond becomes so choked with vegetation that fish cannot survive, and the water is untenable for swimming, boating and other recreational activities.

Although it is a natural phenomenon, it can be amplified by pollution. While part of the problem with Hatch Pond is with the biomass — the bottom of the pond — agricultural pollution has had a significant impact.

Anderson said the nutrients come from farms to the north of the pond, and from a stream that runs in at the pond’s southwest corner.

Efforts to control runoff have already been made at the Arno farm, with the help of the USDA, the state Department of Agriculture and the DEP. Anderson said the farm diverted a stream, built a device to keep cattle away from water sources and are planning a "lagoon" to catch the runoff from the washing of milking machines.

"The farmers have been very cooperative," said Anderson.

The purpose of the WASK meeting is "to decide where we go from here," said Anderson, and to set some goals. "We want to prevent further deterioration, but do we want to try to make the pond not just less eutrophic but mesotrophic? Do we want an environment that will support boating, fishing, and swimming, or do we just want to preserve it?"

— Patrick L. Sullivan

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