Walking back from Whole Foods, I noticed a new set of signs in my neighborhood outlining the watershed of Crystal Lake. The cynic in my would describe the lake as a big puddle collecting run-off but I also know that the technical term, Kettle Pond, better describes the source of the water. Remember, this is not a spring feed lake.
There is a great deal of concern about the lake with several groups advocating various ideas on how best to protect the lake for the future, how safe the water is at various locations that offer access to wading and bathing and what regulations should be imposed, enforced or ignored. I have my own opinions on all of these questions living close but not in eye sight of the lake but today I am content to see that education is the next step to help remind those us living the vicinity of the lake that what we dump on our lawns or in the nearby storm drain has impact on one of our treasured natural resources.
@Groot. Thanks for posting this. I didn’t know there was such a thing as the Crystal Lake Watershed or that Crystal Lake was a kettle pond. Kind of easy to picture the problem with runoff from 100 or so over fertilized lawns close by the lake. A lot harder to comprehend just how much damage these chemicals and substances cause to the Charles River and other surface and ground water resources in the Greater Boston area.
@Bob,
You might be interested in this report from the Crystal Lake Conservancy. They conducted bacteria and nutrient analysis during the summer of 2012. The link is here: http://www.crystallakeconservancy.org/uploads/2/8/6/4/2864556/clc_3rd_annual_forum_2012.pdf
I vividly remember what Crystal Lake looked like 2 years ago when we had that blue/green algae bloom and the lake was closed early for the season. I sure hope folks took that as a wake up call and connected the dots between the health of the lake and what is placed on lawns in pursuit of the perfect yard.
@Lisap. Thanks. You have forwarded the third thing I didn’t know existed. I still regret they couldn’t open the Lake for skating this winter. Crystal Lake, Bullough’s Pond, Weir’s Cove and Red Wing Bay were all crammed with skaters like me when I was a kid. It was fantastic and I can’t remember a single incident when anyone fell through the ice and died.
@Bob, My Uncle played hockey at Bulloughs Pond as a kid (maybe with you), and my Aunt got a personal skating lesson from the one and only Tenley Albright on Crystal Lake. I’m with you on this.
@Lisap. What was your uncle’s name? I did play a few pickup games of hockey at Bulloughs Pond, but nothing serious. My sister and I saw Tenley Albright skating at Crystal lake at least 2 times. She put on quite a performance I recall that they discouraged hockey at Crystal Lake because there were so many small kids on the ice. I haven’t been on skates since the day before the Great Blizzard of 78 when I was up from Washington to see my mom who was sick at the time. I remember seeing these weird, dark herring bone clouds come in just as we were finishing up. My favorite skating story took place on Boston Harbor and Dorchester Bay with my Uncle during one of those really 1940’s cold winters when everything froze over. They built huge bonfires on the ice so people could keep warm and see at night.
Has anyone ever given any thought whether the restoration of Bullough’s Pond as a ice rink is a CPA project? Bullough’s Pond (besides being beautiful) is a historic natural gem, and there is clearly a longstanding history of skating on the pond. It needs to be dredged and cleaned out (just like the ponds upstream at city hall) and my understanding is that this may allow for skating again, plus the skating building needs to be rehabbed. Considering how many of us have great memories of skating on the pond…
@Bob – The family name is Sostilio – grew up on Boylston Rd in the Highlands. The bonfires on the ice must have been quite a site!