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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Hi,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The following article appeared in the Wellesley Townsman today (it is
also linked off <a href="http://www.morsespond.org/">http://www.morsespond.org</a>
under the news section).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>- John<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color="#006666" face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#006666;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color="#006666" face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#006666;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color="#006666" face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:#006666;font-weight:bold'>Pond projects will sink
or swim at TM</span></font></b><font color="#006666"><span style='color:#006666'><br>
</span></font>By <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Rachel Lebeaux</span></b>/
Townsman Staff<br>
Thursday, March 16, 2006 <br>
<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>T</span></b>own infrastructure projects don't
always involve bricks and mortar: in the case of Morse's Pond, it's more like
water and weeds.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> Three articles at Town Meeting later this month
will seek to make Morse's Pond viable for recreational, environmental and
water-quality purposes for a long time to come.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> Article 21, which was brought forth jointly by
the Natural Resources Commission, the Recreation Commission and the Board of
Public Works, asks Town Meeting members to approve a more-than-$1 million
appropriation for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the 105-acre pond.
According to NRC Director Janet Bowser, the work has been waiting for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> "For a long time, Morse's Pond has been
ignored as a resource," Bowser said of the pond, which has been enlarged
several times since the 1700s. "People said, 'It's a nice pond. It's not
looking very good, but we wouldn't have to [work on it] this year.'<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> "The condition of the pond, both as an
environmental resource and a recreational resource, has been declining for
decades," Bowser said. "The sense was we need to begin developing a
long-term management plan for the pond before losing it."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> The three boards came together because, Bowser
said, they saw their interests in the pond as complementary. From the NRC's
perspective, the pond is important as a natural and environmental resource; for
the BPW, quality drinking water is crucial, since 40 percent of the town's
water supply comes from deep wells adjacent to the pond; for the Recreation
Commission, the pond offers residents the opportunity to swim, boat, hike,
skate and fish.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> Town Meeting in 2004 approved $150,000 to
conduct and develop a management plan for the pond, Bowser said. Part of that
money came from Community Preservation Act funding; the rest, from the town
budget. The town hired Dr. Ken Wagner, an environmental consultant, to work
with town boards; along the way, a Morse's Pond Ad Hoc Committee was formed and
residents were invited to attend five public forums on the matter.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> There are two main problems with the pond,
Bowser said. The first is the presence of invasive weeds; the second is an
overgrowth of algae. Last June, the Natural Resources Commission voted down one
suggested method for curing those problems, an herbicide called fluridone. The
town's Integrated Pest Management policy states that there must be a
public-health emergency or no other alternatives in order for herbicides to be
used, and the situation at Morse's Pond did not trigger that, Bowser said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> Thus, to counter the weeds, Town Meeting
members under Article 13 will be asked to approve a $250,000 appropriation from
the CPA fund to purchase of a new weed harvester. "The town has a
more-than 20-year-old weed harvester that needs to be replaced - every year, we
cross our fingers that it continues to float," Bowser said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> The other primary concern is that there is too
much algae in the water, which damages water clarity. To address that, Bowser
said, Town Meeting will be asked to endorse a three-part solution.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> The first portion of the plan revolves around
watershed management, including educating residents, reviewing (and possibly
tightening up) town bylaws and enforcing stormwater management. Although only
22 percent of the Morse's Pond watershed lies in <st1:City w:st="on">Wellesley</st1:City>
(the rest is in <st1:City w:st="on">Natick</st1:City> and Weston), <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wellesley</st1:place></st1:City>'s portion -
"pretty much everything north of Route 9" - is the most developed,
Bowser said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> The second part would call for implementing a
phosphorus inactivation station. "The primary problem in terms of algae
growth in the pond is that there is too much phosphorus and fertilizer going
into the pond, mainly from people's lawns," Bowser explained. That run-off
eventually finds its way into storm drains, and then into the pond. "This
station would be at the inlet, and would bind with the phosphorus so it's
deactivated, and won't enter the pond in a harmful form," Bowser said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> The third recommendation is to dredge the
northern basin of the pond of sediment. Initially, there were talks of dredging
the entire pond, but the cost could have soared to $9 million. The method
before Town Meeting would call for using a machine that Bowser likened to
"a big straw that would pull the sediment out of the bottom."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> The entire cost of the proposed plan, not
including the weed harvester, is $1,073,000. There is also a $75,000
appropriation within the town's operating budget that would cover the hiring of
a pond manager, paying two people to operate the weed harvester and some other
costs.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> If Article 21 is approved by Town Meeting, the
funds to clean up Morse's Pond would appear on an override ballot as part of a
debt-exclusion question proposed by town officials to address three years worth
of town infrastructure needs. On this matter, "We deferred to the powers
that be to make the wider municipal finance decision," Bowser said.
"We understand that the town has multiple needs at this point, and we hope
this will be funded."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> If the debt exclusion does not pass, work on
Morse's Pond would have to be deferred for at least another year. If it were approved,
"work would start immediately."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> No matter what, Bowser said, there would be no
impact on swimmers, as harvesting would not take place in the beach area. She
added that, under Article 20, the Recreation Commission is requesting an appropriation
of funds toward rehabilitating or reconstructing the Morse's<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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