Life on the Lake

Having raised 4 children on the lake, over the years I have to say I have never heard any of them say they were bored. The lake certainly is the center of activity no matter what the season! Here's more photos from Sunday:

How about 4 wheeling and a visit with neighbors!


or ice skating!


or snowmobiling!


or snowboarding!?


or ice fishing!


or cross-country ice skating!?


or your own fishing derby!


Whatever the fun, we are always a little sad when we have to go home!


Manchaug Pond, a great place to be!

Sunday a Great day on the Lake!

Great day on the lake today: Blue sky, sunshine, little wind, and good ice!
Area 1 (the homes before Holbrook') and the south cove of Areas 5 and 6 had plenty of socializing ice fishing and snowmobiling. The rest of the lake was quiet except for some ice skating & hockey at a couple homes in Area 7 & 8. I also saw the four wheeler of Area 8 riding along the shore.

Dam Still Open

The dam is open with the Interface dam caretaker watching our docks
so the ice does freeze around them. The dam is open 6" which
is more than the usual 2 inches at this of the year.

We have noticed a number of duck swimming and eating in the flow between Manchaug
and Steven's. I figure they are enjoying the peace of the water there
under the cover of the trees. Area 2 reports that the seagulls this
year are quite aggressive with a member witnessing an attack of a visiting merganser duck.

Ice Fisherman Hit the Lake

Manchaug Pond, with this cold spell, has a thin coat of ice on it - enough for the ice fisherman to be out on the lake in the area in front of the dam. Clearly not thick enough for me :)

Ice on the Lake

This just in from a photographer in Area 2! With this cold spell this week (morning temperatures in the teens), ice has finally been forming on the lake. Later in the day, the wind opened up this "river".

Email your photos - we'd love to see them! Remember we have members in 30 communities other than Douglas and Sutton and from 7 states with some "overwintering" in Florida. They love "seeing" how the lake looks each day.

Dam Owner Keeps Water Level High

Manchaug Pond is at high water levels for this time of year, with the gate repaired and low water a distant memory.


The dam owner called this week to give the MPA the inside info on how they're handling this unusual winter with no snow cover. (Of course, its snowing as I write this!) First of all, Fuddy, the caretaker will have you know that in his 23 years at this job that this is very unusual to have no snow by mid-January. The plan is to keep the water as high as possible, without ice damage to docks, in case we have a dry spring. Without snow cover we won't have a spring melt to bring us up.

In the meantime, we have been getting plenty of rain and a frozen ground that means plenty of run-off. The first week in January we recieved 2 inches of rain which brought the lake up 20 inches. In response, Fuddy had the gate opened 18 inches.

This week he had the gate back to two inches and was monitoring the weather channel for the possibility of rain - ready to open it up again. "No one watches the Weather Channel as much as I do! Its on all day!" Fuddy reports.

Look to the Sky... Eagles!

The sky above Manchaug Pond has been the focus the last few weeks with a number of eagles hunting our waters. A member from Area 2 reported spotting two immature eagles feeding at Blueberry Island and circling the other islands of the lake on Christmas Eve. Since then other members from Areas 2, 3 and 8 have reported seeing 2 immatures and 1 adult soaring, hunting, and perched high in the trees.

The giant and majestic adult pictured here was caught this week circling high over a chicken coop in Area 3. After about 5 minutes of checking out the coop, it headed toward Steven's Pond.



For a closer look at an adult Bald Eagle click on to the title of this entry and it will take you to the recent Worcester Telegram article on the recent count results held each year in Massachusetts.

Also if you have any photos you would like to share, email them to me at phyllis@abragraphics.net and I will post them here for all to see! Did anyone get a close-up shot or get a new camera lens for Christmas! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR MANCHAUG POND!!

Happy New Year! 2007! Time sure does fly!


With 2007, the Manchaug Pond Association celebrates 40 years of service to the lake, the year-round and seasonal residents, and to the community. The MPA was formed in 1967 to "the promote the welfare and correct use of Manchaug Pond and the contiguous area."

2007 promises to be a full year for the MPA with two MAJOR projects to bring to fruition. First, to oversee the implementation of the federal EPA storm drain grant we secured in 2006. The project brings $129,000 to the MPA to build storm drains, catch basins and the like on the roads around Manchaug Pond and to develop educational materials and programs for residents and businesses operating in the watershed. The benefits are long-term with specific measures designed to reduce nuisance aquatic weed growth and improve water quality. The engineering firm of CEI (Comprehensive Environmental Inc.) will oversee the technical and reporting end of things, the Highway Departments of the towns of Douglas and Sutton will do the work on the roads and at the state boat ramp and MPA volunteers will work with CEI on the educational component.

Secondly, the MPA will continue the effort to form a municipal watershed district for the lake area. This will directly give the lake a stronger presence within the two towns, will empower us to act quickly and effectively on future issues, and will open doors for future grants monies available only to municipal entities. The MPA Board of Directors began in February of 2006 looking at the best options for the future of the lake and met again in May consulting the Congress of Lake and Pond Associations (COLAP) and the Cedar Meadow Lake Watershed Association. They voted unanimously to bring the municipal district option to the membership. Informational public meetings were held in June (with the District Clerk of Cedar Meadows Watershed District speaking to the pros and cons & ins and outs) and in August with the many in attendance voting unanimously at both meetings in support of the formation of a Manchaug Pond District. A third public meeting was held in December with the MPA President giving a PowerPoint presentation on the initiative and the attorney hired by the MPA to spearhead the process answered questions asked by those in attendence. The MPA also met in June with the newly formed Whitin Reservoir Association, who is also looking to form a district.

Again, 2007 promises to be an exciting year!

Dam closed to 1 inch - Water is high.

Fuddy reports closing the gate to 1 inch on Sunday. He has Whitins open 3 inches. He found this to be his easiest year yet with no hurricanes hitting the area.

On the sale of the mill and three dams, he hasn't heard anything new. He says the dam owner is still trying to find a buyer who wants the whole package. Machines are still being taken out of the mill. Four large heater units have been brought in to heat the mill so the pipes do freeze. The propane blowers are outside the building and are cheaper than hiring staff to fire up the boilers all winter.

On the dams, the Douglas Board of Selectman told the MPA, that while they are not interested in ownership of any of the dams, they do want a written agreement with the future owner(s) that the 16 cubic feet per second flow will be maintained for their town's sewerage treatment plant.

Watershed District Topic of Meeting Set for Thursday

This Thursday, December 14th at 7:00 p.m. all those interested in Manchaug Pond and the MPA's initiative to form a Watershed District are invited to the church hall at St. Anne's Church on Main St in Manchaug across from Bek's Fuels. The MPA President will make a PowerPoint presentation explaining the mission, goals and objectives of the MPA members' call to form the municipal district. Further he and the Treasurer, in working with the District Clerk of the long existing Cedar Meadow Lake Watershed District have worked up an initial budget for the first year and the estimated cost to the pond abutters and those with water rights. Attorney Walter Jabs, hired by the MPA to spearhead this effort, will attend outlining the draft legislation and bylaws which will set the framework for the district. This action is driven by the MPA membership who voted unanimously at two meetings earlier this year to pursue formation of the municipal district.

All interested are invited and encouraged to attend. Bring questions, concerns and thoughts, as the purpose of this meeting is to provide factual information to all.

This meeting is the rescheduled from November where a blackout in Manchaug and

Manchaug Pond Indian Artifacts in Museum

Do you like arrowheads? Did you find a few while the water level was down?

This week a long time member and resident of Manchaug Pond from Area 2 brought to our attention the fact that a large collection of Indian artifacts from Manchaug Pond are on exhibit at The Robbins Museum in Middleboro.

Here's the details this member provides to all of you:

"WHAT? Indian Artifacts from the Central Massachusetts collection of C.C. Ferguson

WHERE? Massachusetts Archaeological Society at the Robbins Museum of Archaeology 17 Jackson St., Middleboro, Mass. Weds. 9-4 and Sat. 10-2. (Click title for link or call 508-947-9005 for direction and information.)

WHEN? Now through Spring 07'

NOTE: The bulk of C.C. Fergusons's collection comes from Manchaug Pond and downstream along the Mumford River. His collecting done in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's and is the most complete of Manchaug Pond ever put together.

C.C. was a graduate of Harvard College, an educator and many years Superintendent of Schools in Millbury Mass.

A must see for anyone interested in the antiquities of Manchaug Pond."

H.A.

With Rain, Dam is Opened Again

Just received another call from the caretaker of the dam, Fuddy. He had closed the gate of the dam earlier in the week down to one inch. Today he opened the gate back to 8 inches to get rid of yesterday's rain. But most importantly we are already up to where we should be for this time of year. Yes! Already up to where we should be this time of year!

Some may say we are still too low but if you take a look there are a few reasons to keep it down... docks legs are in the water at King's Campground (not good with freezing weather ahead, water flowing from the watershed quickly brings us up (it was flowing like a brook down the hill from Lake Manchaug Camping to the lake), my neighbor is just one of many going through the hearing process to clean up their beach area, and others are still repairing walls and docks, and we use lake level drawdown to reduce the aquatic weed growth.

Remember that here at Manchaug Pond, one inch of rain brings us up 10 inches with the run-off from the watershed. Fuddy reports using the same system this year as they have for 23 years. He reports the lake went up 6 inches with just this last rainfall on Thanksgiving. If he hadn't opened it, the water level would have come up a foot plus. Further, Fuddy reports we have had 4 1/2 inches in 2 weeks. If he hadn't opened the gate, we would have come up about 4 feet!

Dams in the News: A Sutton Dam No One Wants!

No, it is not Manchaug Pond's dam, not Steven's, not Tucker's, not Singletary's, not Ramshorn's.... Can you name it, do you know where it is?

Does it look familiar at all?


How about from this angle?


How about the flow from the other side of the road?


Give up!?!

It's called SINGING DAM, and it is located on the Blackstone River in the Wilkinsonville section of Sutton and is the future site of the Sutton 300's Tricentennial Park.

The park design has been long completed and is posted on the site and in Manchaug center.

Construction of the 5 acre park is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2005.

What? 2005? It's 2006 now, going on 2007! What's the hold up?

Well, Sutton Selectman report that the $$ is all there for the Park: $$ from the Blackstone River Valley Corridor Commission Heritage Partnership Program has been long spent on the design. $$ has been secured to fund construction through the Mass Highway Dept. Transportation Enhancement Program. Further, DEP reports Blackstone National Golf Course is providing $26,250 in funds directly to the Town of Sutton for use in the design and construction of the proposed Tricentennial Park (as part of a DEP penalty to golf course for taking too much water out of the course's 5 wells to irrigate the course without telling DEP.) The park is reported to "include picnic tables, historic markers, interpretive signs, a trail, canoe portage, public art, and a reflective area".

Sounds nice and the project is well funded!

So what's the hold-up?

Well, the dam. The company across the street owns it and doesn't want the liability. A Sutton Selectman tells the MPA that the town doesn't want ownership either, so the Town of Sutton has asked State Rep. Jennifer Callahan to press the state to take over ownership. We'll see how long this goes on....

Water Level - Dam Open Now for Aquatic Life

This photo was taken today of the water coming out of our dam here on Manchaug - specifically out the new gate. Why is the dam open when we are still low? Well, the state is requiring the dam owner maintain a flow to "support the aquatic life" downstream. Fuddy got the call from the engineer in Maine earlier this week saying he should open the gate a bit.

Further Fuddy does report that the waterlevel is coming up nicely with all this rain and run-off from the watershed. He has seen the level come up 2 1/2 inches from one day's rain. Course we new that looking at the rain gauges!

An MPA Clean up TODAY!

Just a reminder to put on those MPA sweatshirts and head to the shore with your gloves and garbage bags this morning!

The MPA 1st VP will be in Area 1 and 2 heading things up and a big orange Town of Sutton truck will be parked roadside to hall it away.

The President is working this morning at the real job and regrets he can't make it!



I'll be hitting the computer typing the Committee minutes to the Watershed District Committee's last meeting, sending out two notices - one for the next Board of Director's Meeting and the other for the rescheduled Water District info meeting and photocopying handouts. Tomorrow, I update you on a call the MPA received from Sutton Selectman Mike Chizy and his concerns for another dam in Sutton.

MPA Meeting Rescheduled to Dec. 14

Last night the MPA had to cancel the informational meeting set to discuss and update all parties on the formation of the Watershed District. Why cancel? A power outage hit the village of Manchaug and the shores of Manchaug Pond both the Sutton and Douglas sides which lasted from just after 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The MPA President spoke directly with National Grid workers who were on site minutes after the outage hit. They expected the outage to last about a half hour so the meeting was not cancelled. As the clocked ticked, darkness set in and members came from far and wide - throughout Central Massachusetts, and as far RI - gathering in the parking lot.

The meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday evening, December 14th, same location. All will receive a notice in the mail.

Real Estate Tax Credit for Persons Age 65 + (known as the Circuit Breaker Credit)

Have you heard about the Circuit Breaker Credit? Get money back because of the property taxes you have paid. My neighbor, who found out about it only this year, filed for the last three years and received a check totaling over $2,000.

Who qualifies? Well, you need to be over 65 years old; made less than $ 46,000 if you file as single, $58,000 as head of a household, and $70,000 if married filing jointly; and your assessed property value is no more than $684,000. You also need to file a state tax return in Mass.

The tax relief program was started in 2001 but if you haven't taken advantage of it you are allowed to file back three years.

Check out the link to see if you qualify! You can get up to $870 for 2006 alone!

http://www.dor.state.ma.us/help/guides/abate_amend/personal/issues/realestate.htm

VP Organizes Cleanup for Nov. 11th

Mark that calendar again! You are needed and bring a friend!

This Saturday, November 11th our 1st Vice President is spearheading a cleanup for the north end of the lake - that stretch of shoreline in Area 1 and 2 which collects a lot of debris from the wind and wave action across the lake. The Town of Sutton is providing a town dump truck and 15 "Pay-as-you-Throw trash bags (33 gallons each bag) for the effort. Volunteers should report between 9 a.m. and noon.

In other areas around the lake, if you would like to clean up your bit of the shoreline, the rubbish collected can be brought to the town truck in Area 1 or to the boat ramp for afternoon pick up.

MPA Sets Public Forum on District for Nov. 9th

The Manchaug Pond Association will hold an open forum for all to attend to discuss the creation of a watershed district for Manchaug Pond. The public meeting, Thursday, November 9th, will be held at 7:30 p.m. at St. Anne's Church Hall at 31 Main St. Manchaug. Attorney Walter Jabs Jr. and the MPA will provide information, taking questions and soliciting your input, on this important issue concerning our lake.

Draft documents will be available at the meeting, including the proposed District Act, the bylaws and inital meeting warrant and budget. The legislative process to create the district will be explained as well as how the district will operate.

A letter notifying those who would be interested in attending has gone out to all abutters along the lake shore, all property owners with water rights, all MPA members past and present including renters, and other supporters.

Special thanks to the member who donated the paper and envelops for this mailing :))

3 1/2 inches of rain so far!

Well, the little rain gauge was reading 3 1/2 inches this evening. I'm sure a call to Fuddy tomorrow will tell us want that means for the lake as far as runoff from the watershed and how much it will bring the water up.

I can tell you that this culvert that the town fixed a couple weeks ago had a full flow of storm water going into the lake this afternoon! Definitely something that needs to be addressed at a latter date by another nonpoint source pollution grant like we were just awarded. They would probably recommend the installation of a catch basin or something across the street!