Monday, September 29, 2008

319 Grant Progress, Thank You Town of Douglas!

I know this picture is not too exciting at first but it is a very special "hole in the ground".

We are very fortunate to be living in a state that supports lakes and ponds through grants like the 319 NPS (non point source pollution) grant that the MPA received last spring. There are several aspects to the grant such as educational outreach programs as well as structural modifications around Manchaug Pond that are designed to filter "first flush" nutrients that enter the lake when there is a rain storm and feed the weeds that are in the lake. These nutrients come from fertilizers, lawn herbicides, animal waste, automobile tires, and general pollution.

Our grant has seven sites that are scheduled to be worked on this fall. I was thrilled to come back after working out of town to see that the two Douglas sites have been completed which are located on Holt Road between Manchaug Campground and King's Campground.
A very BIG thank you to the town of Douglas for completing the work so quickly!
I took a ride to check them out Saturday afternoon during the rain storm and they are working perfectly. The photo above is Site #6 which has a gabion and purge pool. This site will annually filter 265 lbs of total suspended solids (TSS) per year as well as Phosphorous and Nitrogen. Site #7 down the road will eliminate 975 lbs of suspended solids per year. Combined these sites will eliminate a total of 1,240 lbs. of TSS, 1.42 lbs of Phosphorous and 7.5 lbs of Nitrogen per year.

It gets better. When completed, the 5 sites that are in Sutton will eliminate 5,361 total suspended solids, 9.24 lbs phosphorus, and 35.62 lbs. of Nitrogen from directly entering Manchaug Pond. The seven sites sites will filter over 3 TONS of pollution annually....those will be very impressive "holes in the ground".

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