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Commentary: Morse's Pond: a neglected jewel
 By John E. Ciolfi/ Guest Columnist
 Thursday, March 23, 2006

Wellesley is an amazing town. Wellesley is the best of the best: a great community with an excellent town government, great schools, great libraries, great businesses, great parks and Morse's Pond.
    Morse's Pond is a jewel that works for the town. The Morse's Pond wells are a primary source of drinking water for Wellesley. Morse's Pond works for the town by saving us hundreds of thousands of dollars each year when compared with water costs from MWRA via the Quabbin Reservoir.
    Besides providing the town with water, Morse's Pond provides the town with an excellent public beach. My family regularly uses the beach in the summer. Last summer, our son took swimming lessons there. The beach area also has a play set, swings, room for playing ball, picnic tables, BBQ grills, kayaks, hiking paths, cycling paths, and plenty of shade. Each day when we go to the beach, our kids spend nearly the whole day there. This differs from our experience at swimming pools, where after about an hour they want to leave. Not only do our kids love the beach, we do. We view Morse's Pond as an oasis providing a break from the busy hustle of life.
    
Morse's Pond beach

    Not only does Morse's Pond provide the town with a water supply, a great beach and boating, it also provides the town with excellent fishing, ice skating, bird watching, hiking and other outdoor activities. At 105 acres, Morse's Pond is the largest public open space in Wellesley, which makes it a very valuable resource for Wellesley. Because of its size and the variety of activities, the pond lets one get back in touch with nature, enabling one to revive their soul.
    The pond also is a valuable educational resource. I find that when I take my son to the beach, he is very curious about the pond. He asks many questions. Taking kids to the beach is a fun and great way to teach our youngsters about the value of ecosystems and how humans can help an ecosystem or destroy it. There is a program at the Hunnewell Elementary School that uses the pond for education about ecosystems. I feel that Morse's Pond is an untapped resource for educating our youngsters about how nature works. Education shouldn't be confined to four walls.
    Beach safety
    When we first started going to the beach, I was curious if it was safe for swimming. I was relieved to learn that it is regularly tested, and no one I spoke with could clearly recall when it has been closed for health reasons. It hasn't been closed since we've been going to the beach. Contrast this with chlorinated swimming pools such as the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center pool in Newton, which was closed eight times last summer for health reasons, as reported by the Boston Globe on Aug. 14, 2005. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stomach virus outbreaks caused by contaminated recreational pools have been on the rise in recent years. This is because pathogens such as cryptosporidium are resistant to chlorine. Health-related outbreaks are much less likely to happen in Morse's Pond, because it is a much larger body of water that is replenished once a month by the water feeding into the pond.
    Another amazing aspect of Morse's Pond is the lack of mosquitoes. There are very few mosquitoes near the pond. We often spend the whole day at the beach without seeing a single mosquito. Mosquitoes like still water, such as water sitting in a bucket in your backyard. They don't like moving water, and Morse's Pond is blessed with a high flow of water into the pond. Furthermore, fish like mosquitoes, and there are plenty of fish in the pond which enjoy eating mosquitoes. The fish also provide great entertainment. My kids will spend hours watching and chasing the fish at the beach. Fortunately, for us who dislike mosquitoes, my kids are unable to catch the fish.
    Even though we feel that the beach is a safer place to swim than pools, we are concerned with the water clarity and quality. To help with water clarity, the town hydrorakes weeds from the area near the beach. Even with the hydroraking, we do see loose weeds floating on the beach which makes the beach less attractive. In addition to the weeds one sees at the pond, there is concern about algae. Aerators are used in the beach swimming area to enhance water circulation which helps minimize algae. In addition to the aerators, the town uses algaecides (copper sulfate) and aluminum sulfate (alum) for phosphorous inactivation to control algae in the southern portion of the pond. All evidence today indicates these chemicals are safe if used wisely and at the right levels. The last alum treatment at the beach was in 2002. The town used copper sulfate in June 2004, and there were no treatments in 2005. While these chemicals are approved for use in swimming areas, our family would feel much better if there was no need for them.
    Weeds and algae
    
Weeds and algae in the northwest cove of Morse's Pond

    In the northern part of the pond, the weeds and algae blooms are so great that they create an opaque covering on the pond surface. One form of algae is particularly disconcerting - the toxic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), which does occur in the pond. Thus, reducing the algae in the pond is not only important for the health and beauty of the pond, it is important to reduce algae for human health reasons. The management plan is to catch algae blooms before they start in the northern area of the pond and migrate down to the beach in the south.
    Another favorite activity of ours is canoeing. For those who haven't canoed Morse's Pond, it's a fun way to spend a day. When you canoe, you will most likely see the Morse's Pond swan family and other great birds. When in the canoe, it's hard to believe that you are in the middle of a highly populated area. You feel like you are in the Maine backwoods. You only realize you're in a populated area when you look down at the water. Canoeing in the pond, outside of the beach area, you will see weeds, many pond weeds. The dominant weeds are Eurasian milfoil and fanwort, invasive plants introduced by man. When canoeing over acres of these weeds, it gives you an eerie feeling. You feel like you are canoeing on a bright green lawn with the plants just touching the water surface. Another dominant weed is the invasive lily pad. Lily pads are highly concentrated in the northern basin of Morse's Pond. Canoeing over lily pads is much more challenging. You get a real workout as the drag from the lily pads really halts forward progress of the canoe. It almost feels like you are canoeing on land.
    
Morse's Pond swan family
    If you are really adventurous, you can canoe to the northern basin of the pond and up Jennings Brook, which will bring you to Leary's Fine Wine and Spirits by Route 9. While canoeing, you will see many beautiful purple plants several feet high. This beautiful plant is known as loosestrife and is an invasive plant that was introduced by humans. Each year, the amount of loosestrife grows greatly. Neighbors of mine can recall when there was basically no loosestrife. The rapid growth of loosestrife greatly speeds up the transformation of a pond to land, a process known as eutrophication. The canoe trip up the brook is very pleasant, but one unfortunate issue is that trash (e.g., cans and bottles) wash into the brook. Thus, the return trip often ends up with the carrying out of trash.
    Morse's Pond is in trouble because of human intervention. We introduced invasive plant species that are choking the pond. Not only did we introduce invasive species, but we also feed the invasive plants and the algae with tons of potent lawn fertilizers. Morse's Pond has a large watershed (5,300 acres) that feeds water to the pond. A large portion of the watershed is in Wellesley. Many homes in the watershed have beautiful green lawns, thanks to the lawn fertilizers. Thus, the water entering Morse's Pond contains excessive amounts of phosphorous from the lawn fertilizers. The phosphorous feeds the invasive weeds and algae, creating mutant-like settings in some portions of the pond. Many people don't understand how large the Morse's Pond watershed is. It is more than 50 times the size of the pond. For example, a friend of mine grew up on Boulder Brook Road and had no idea that runoff from their lawn was adversely affecting Morse's Pond.
    One activity that we'd love to be able to do on the pond is sailing. Obviously the massive amount of weeds prevents us from sailing. A couple of decades ago, this wasn't the case. There were lots of sunfish moored off Morse's Pond beach. The inability to sail on the pond at present is reflective of the state of the pond.
    Another invasive plant that has been introduced to Morse's Pond is the water chestnut. Water chestnuts are highly invasive plants whose sticky nuts were most likely brought into Morse's Pond by water fowl. Fortunately, because of volunteer efforts, water chestnuts are not a major problem in the pond. Thirteen years ago, a DPW consultant found large patches, and DPW asked pond resident Arnold Reif to hand-harvest them, and supplied an intern to help. Although he has continued to coordinate harvesting by volunteers ever since, it has been impossible to eradicate this prolific weed completely. Nowadays in summer, each biweekly harvesting outing brings out five to six kayaks. Afterwards, all visible water chestnuts are in bags rather on than on the pond. The town's consultant, Dr. Wagner from ENSR, has estimated that if the water chestnuts had been allowed to get out of control, it would have cost the town $200,000 to $300,000 to get them under control. Otherwise, Morse's Pond "would lose virtually all utility as a recreational resource - you can't swim, boat or fish in a chestnut bed." This success story proves to me that if we were to fund additional efforts to fix and manage the pond, we will see Morse's Pond returned to its former glory.
    Pond management plan
    Human intervention is needed to turn around the decline of Morse's Pond. Our presence and activities are adversely affecting the pond. To correct and maintain the health of the pond, we need a management plan.
    More than a year ago, with joint funding from the town and the Community Preservation Commission, a committee was established to develop a comprehensive plan for the management of Morse's Pond. The committee consisted of members from the Natural Resources Commission, Recreation Commission and the Department of Public Works, including the town engineer and superintendent of the Water Department, and representatives from the Friends of Morses Pond. To help with the development of the management plan, proposals were requested from consulting firms and from these proposals, ENSR International was chosen. The consulting effort was led by Dr. Kenneth J. Wagner, a certified lake manager. It is understood that his help was invaluable and you would recognize this if you attended any of the public meetings where he answered our questions and helped us to understand the complexities of managing Morse's Pond.
    Based on past and current studies and monitoring records of Morse's Pond, the committee studied the problems facing the pond in the short and long term. In a series of public meetings including stakeholders who have an interest in the pond, a community-wide set of goals and priorities were established for the future of the pond. In turn, alternative measures for the management plan were tested against these goals. Out of this careful, detailed, and lengthy process, the Comprehensive Plan for the Management of Morses Pond was developed.
    Implementation of the Management Plan for Morses Pond is covered by the Warrant Article 21 being presented to the Town Meeting this spring beginning at the end of this month. Advisory, by a 12-2 vote, is recommending the plan be funded by the town.
    Doing nothing is not the plan
    If we continue on the current track, "a do-nothing management plan," the town will continue to watch the pond decline. Residents who have lived in Wellesley for years have seen this happen. It was just a few decades ago that one could swim in the northern portion of the pond. People used to sail on the pond, but can no longer do so because of the weeds. Things have changed dramatically in the past few decades. In the next 20 years or so, the northern basin will become a wetland. But, the northern basin is very important for the health of Morse's Pond. This is where water flowing into the pond can be slowed down so particles can settle out. By doing nothing, the wetland that will form in the northern basin will most likely consist of a dominate plant, the invasive loosestrife. It will most likely become an ineffective wetland and the function the northern basin performs for the pond will disappear. This will result in reduced water clarity, increased pond scum and a less attractive beach. If water clarity degrades enough, the beach may need to close in the coming decades.
    Right now, we are blessed with very few mosquitoes near Morse's Pond. However, if a large wetland takes over the northern basin, we may see an increase in mosquitoes because of the increase in stagnant water pockets. The town may be forced to use pesticides in this area to control West Nile virus or another disease transmitted by mosquitoes. The thought of having to use pesticides near our water supply concerns me.
    Comprehensive Plan for Managing Morses Pond
    As noted above, the comprehensive plan is being submitted to the Wellesley 2006 Town Meeting for funding as Warrant Article 21. (A copy of the 186 page "Comprehensive Plans for the Management of Morse's Pond" is available on http://www.morsespond.org.) The plan makes lots of sense. It has many aspects, all geared to improving the health of the Pond for the long run.
    A key aspect of the plan is to replace the 20-plus-year-old weed harvester currently owned by the town. This harvester is too tired, too small and has demonstrated its inability to harvest the weeds throughout the pond correctly. The Community Preservation Commission has allocated funds for the purchase of a new, superior harvester - subject to funding of the overall Comprehensive Plan for Managing Morses Pond. The plan is to keep invasive rooted plants in check and encourage native low growing native plants to flourish. Last summer, an experiment was run using the old harvester to duplicate the kind of comprehensive harvesting that a new harvester might perform. The experiment was run in the northeast cove of the pond, and validated some aspects of the efficacy of harvesting rooted plants as part of the plan for Morse's Pond.
    However, it should be noted that harvesting rooted plants will not stop algae growth. In the past, algae blooms have been treated only after they have appeared and are moving from north (Route 9) to south (the beach) down the pond following the water flow. The plan is to stop the algae blooms in the northern basin before they progress and to establish programs which will reduce phosphorous concentrations in storm surges that encourage and support algae growth. By controlling algae at the source, the town should be able to reduce or eliminate the chemicals used in the southern portion of the pond, which will make our family feel much better.
    The plan also calls for addressing the issues in the northern basin such that the basin doesn't regress to an ineffective wetland. The issues of the northern basin will most likely be addressed by dredging the basin to restore the detention capacity of the basin and to support the storm surge alum treatment as necessary. It is my understanding that additional dredging beyond the northern basin as the primary thrust of a plan to manage Morse's Pond was considered but rejected and not considered cost effective. Most areas of the bottom of the pond consist of several feet of organic rich sediments that have accumulated over the years. These sediments support dense growth of invasive weeds. Thus, dredging the full pond could seem to be beneficial in the near term. However, unless the pond is dredged so it will be more than 10 feet deep, which could interfere with the Morse's Pond water wells, invasive rooted plant would return after a while and, of course, algae blooms would not be affected without continued alum treatments.
    As the plan is implemented, we should see improvements from year to year. The beach will become more attractive with better water clarity, reduced algae and fewer weeds. Eventually, we will see a return of sailing on the pond. More Wellesley residents will use the pond as it becomes more attractive. Most importantly, the plan will reverse the decline of the pond, thereby insuring that it will be a valued resource for future generations.
    Many people in Wellesley are not aware of the state of Morse's Pond. I believe saying "out of sight, out of mind" applies to many and if they were to take a look at the pond, they would become strong advocates for the Comprehensive Plan for the Management of Morses Pond. The Friends of Morses Pond has been in existence for 35 years and has done a lot to help the pond in addition to efforts by NRC, DPW and Recreation. FOMP is a large group of citizens interested in giving back to their environment and community by working on issues affecting Morse's Pond. But, unfortunately these groups don't have the sufficient resources to counter the negative changes done by humans to the pond.
    In the past few years, I've been attending the public meetings about Morse's Pond. In addition, I have become involved with the Friends of Morses Pond. I have set up a Web site, http://www.morsespond.org, and an e-mail list server. I'm donating my time and money toward Morse's Pond because I believe I can make a difference. I also believe that Wellesley is a town, which when presented with a well researched and sensible plan, will adopt the plan rather than let the jewel of Wellesley go to neglect.
    John E. Ciolfi lives on Pickerel Road.