We were so very happy to have a great turnout for our fall cleanup! In addition to many lake association members, neighbors and District 1 City Councilor Tony Economou, we were fortunate to have many representatives from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and students from St. Peter Marian Junior-Senior High School join us. A special thanks to Worcester Technical High School senior Mike Sloan who serviced all the equipment before the cleanup AND built the W.J. Hoey Tire giant leaf vacuum which is an invaluable asset to leaf pickup!!! Volunteers worked at Morgan Park, Sears Island Causeway, Clason Road Beach, Frostholm Memorial, Norton Drive and Shore Park! Thank you all!!

The ILWA welcomes Jacquelyn Burmeister, the first environmental analyst hired to focus primarily on our lakes and ponds throughout the City of Worcester! Jacquelyn will play a pivotal role working with groups across the city to restore and protect our irreplaceable waterways. Below is a short bio on Jacquelyn.

 

Originally from Connecticut, Jacquelyn Burmeister grew up spending her summers enjoying the natural beauty of the beaches and lakes of Massachusetts. Her desire to preserve these places fueled her interest in the environmental sciences from a young age. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology at Duke University, where her research focused on soil biogeochemistry. During the summers she worked in limnology and forestry laboratories, where she became fascinated by the relationship between anthropogenic activity and ecosystem health. After graduating, she joined the Peace Corps in Honduras to work more closely with communities facing environmental management problems. She continued to collaborate on sustainable community development projects in Central and South America for several years after her service was over. Jacquelyn then returned to the Northeast, where she received her MBA and MS in Environmental Science and Policy at Clark University. While there, she collaborated with Eugene Bernat at the Living Systems Laboratory in Grafton to promote the development of nature-based solutions to industrial and nutrient-based contamination in the Blackstone River. She became interested in the rich history of Blackstone Watershed, and the opportunities to promote integrated solutions to water quality problems. Before beginning with the City of Worcester, she spent some time with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in the Watershed Planning Program. There, she worked with watershed groups to develop water sampling plans to produce high quality, reliable data. In addition to water activities like swimming and rowing, Jacquelyn also enjoys running and learning new languages.

It's with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our longtime board member, Warren Page, on December 20th, 2016. Warren worked tirelessly in our neighborhood with a special focus on Little Indian lake. As his health declined in the last couple years and he couldn't attend meetings as easily, he would still stay in touch via email or phone. Last year, he even called from the hospital to ensure something was being tended to at Little Indian! Warren was a wonderful man who cared deeply about his family, his neighborhood and his beloved lake. Warren will always be remembered fondly by those of us who had the opportunity to know him. Rest in peace Warren.

The cyanobacteria (blue green algae) bloom that prompted the advisory at Indian Lake in the summer of 2014 brought nutrient loading at the lake into the spotlight. This is something that has been discussed for many years and is not uncommon, especially in urban settings. Our recreational water bodies are often on the receiving end of nutrients such as phosphorus based fertilizers, sand and salt from roads and runoff from parking lots. It's important to know that the lake and its tributaries receive runoff from the entire watershed, not just the adjacent properties.

 

Many improvements have been made by the City of Worcester Department of Public Works and Parks and the ILWA to reduce the nutrients entering the lake including stenciling storm drains, installation of several underground systems to trap sediment that would otherwise enter the lake, implementing regular maintenance/cleanouts of storm drains and these underground systems, paving and installing drainage systems in dirt roads that previously sent silt and dirt into the lake, replacing impervious paved areas with pervious concrete at the Clason Road beach so that runoff could infiltrate into the ground before reaching the lake and investing in a comprehensive study to identify and prioritize areas within the watershed that should be targeted for additional nutrient reduction controls.

 

The City of Worcester has notified us of more improvements that are imminent to reduce the nutrients entering Indian Lake through storm water. Installation of additional underground structures to capture sediment and nutrients that would otherwise end up in the lake will soon move forward at Parkton Avenue, Stetson Road and Florida Avenue. In addition, two bio filtration systems will be installed at Morgan Park which will use some of the latest technology for natural nutrient reduction. Installations should be very quick and afterwards there will be little visible signs of the underground units.

 

This project is made possible with significant contributions from Saint Gobain and the City of Worcester Department of Public Works and Parks!