Thank you to everyone who came out to the September meeting! The next Indian Lake Neighborhood Watch meeting will be this Tuesday, October 18th at 6pm at Harr Toyota, 100 Gold Star Boulevard in Worcester.

This informative meeting, which is held monthly by the Worcester Police Department, is open to all. It provides an opportunity for residents to get to know the officers working in our neighborhood and discuss quality of life issues.

 

The meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month and posted on the City of Worcester website:

 

City of Worcester Calendar

Many thanks to Senator Harriette Chandler and State Representatives John Mahoney and Jim O'Day for their tireless advocacy on behalf of Indian Lake. They have worked very hard to secure funds to assist with lake management which we are very hopeful will come through soon! We are very fortunate that our representatives both in the legislature and senate work in tandem for important causes like our waterways!

The gates will be opened for the winter drawdown the week of October 24th. The City of Worcester continues to be in a Stage 3 Drought Emergency. Thus many discussions are taking place in relation to potential issues refilling the lake in the spring should the drought conditions continue.

The drawdown has been a very effective tool in managing nonnative, invasive weeds for nearly 20 years. It is extremely likely that the water will not be brought down as far as normal. A notice will be sent as soon as the decision is made.

As in the past, the gates will likely be closed before the ice has fully melted. Therefore residents should begin making plans now to remove docks if necessary.

For more information on the Stage 3 Drought, see below:

City of Worcester Stage 3 Drought Emergency

Our fall cleanup will be on Saturday, November 5th from 9-12. We need volunteers to help with shoreline cleanup, preparing the local war memorials for winter, and collecting leaves, trash, etc. from our parks and beaches surrounding Indian Lake.

Please meet at Morgan Park at 9am.

Cleanup Flyer

The first phase of the Shore Park improvements will be under way within the next couple of weeks. The plans are the result of a series of public meetings held in 2014 and support the successful partnership with the YMCA of Central Massachusetts Greendale Family Branch which was key to opening Shore Park to the public nearly 10 years ago. We are exceptionally grateful for the roles that the YMCA, Hanover Insurance, the City of Worcester and Bancroft School have played in this process.

Watch for this exciting work to begin soon!

We had a very successful season as far as the algae with the lake looking fabulous through the spring and early summer! The City of Worcester, in conjunction with the ILWA, worked with ESS Group to monitor cyanobacteria/blue-green algae in the lake all summer. Only one treatment was necessary at the end of July.

Volunteers also took part in training with the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Environmental Protection, many lake, pond and health professionals to learn about how we can help scientists and researchers track cyanobacteria blooms. Learn more at http://cyanos.org/cyanoscope.

We saw the nonnative, invasive weed naiad (najas minor) spread rapidly this summer. Naiad has been in Indian Lake for many years but traditionally has not been our most prominent nonnative invasive species.

In early September, we received numerous calls relative to algae in several coves. This was not algae but duckweed. If you look close, you will see the tiny leaves. It is commonly found in Little Indian and Kiver Pond.

While there is currently no way to eradicate the lake of nonnative, invasive weeds, management is key. Given the significant changes in the naiad growth, the ILWA hired SOLitude Lake Management to survey the main body of Indian Lake in it's entirety so we can incorporate these developments into management plans for next year. There is little doubt the greater clarity has played a role, however, it is important we have a handle on the extent of the growth in order to evaluate options for next year.