LYNNFIELD — The Select Board on Tuesday indicated their support for a feasibility study on dredging Pillings Pond, with the idea that dredging, literally scooping mud, weeds, and other material out of the pond, could improve the health of the waters, which have been plagued by harmful algae blooms in recent months.
Pillings Pond Sub-Committee member Joseph DiBlasi walked the board through the proposal for the study, which would be undertaken by the sub-committee in consultation with ESS Group, Inc., an engineering services company based in Waltham. DiBlasi told the board that dredging the pond may be necessary as it has likely undergone eutrophication, a process where a body of water becomes enriched with minerals that then cause dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.
“Over the past year or so we’ve been looking into the potential for ways to improve the health of the pond … one way that is always of interest, really one of the ways to truly set the clock back on the pond would be dredging,” DiBlasi said.
One of the concerns stemming from the declining water quality of the pond is the decrease in property value for the homes that surround it, as DiBlasi noted that 128 properties, including his own home, abut the pond.
DiBlasi said the blue-green algae that blooms on the pond falls to the bottom when it dies, leading to the algae depriving the water of oxygen as it decomposes.
“It can become a real problem if untreated,” he said.
In May, ESS completed a desk and field study of the pond, which gave the sub-committee the “lay of the land” and helped familiarize the company with the pond, DiBlasi said. The company has experience dealing with similar situations to Pillings, he said, noting that White Pond in Concord faced problems like the ones Lynnfield are now grappling with.
ESS proposed four tasks to complete the feasibility study, the first of which would be field work consisting of CAD mapping, entailing taking a 16-foot pole to find the depth of hard resistance, or the depth of the sediment, as well as water depths in the pond. They would also undertake a GIS map with 2-foot by 2-foot grid increments, giving the subcommittee a full map of the contour of the pond.
Using that information, the company would also take nine sediment cores and three composite sediment samples to identify what exactly is in the sediment — both materials and chemicals. DiBlasi said these analyses would be key in identifying where exactly dredged material could be stored if that is the route the town decides to take.
The second task ESS would undertake is to determine permitting requirements for the potential dredging so the town knows what processes it is allowed to undertake. The third task would be the dredging feasibility study itself, essentially a report including an estimation of sediment depths, a discussion of sediment characteristics, an estimate of the volume of soft sediment, location of potential dewatering sites and dredge methodologies, up to two conceptual designs for the dredge project envisioned by the town, a rough order of magnitude cost estimates and timeline for dredge projects at the pond, and estimated costs and timeline for obtaining the permits necessary for dredging the pond.
The final task would then be presenting the report to the town.
The total cost for ESS’s services for the feasibility study would be $43,500 and DiBlasi noted that the Conservation Commission has already supported the proposal.
DiBlasi said regardless of the final determination of the study, the information gained would provide tangible information on how to move forward with Pillings Pond.
“The pond is beloved for its wildlife and recreation,” he said. “I believe we owe it care.”
Select Board Chair Phil Crawford said he was in full support of the proposed study.
Select Board Vice-Chair Joe Connell said the pond was a “highlight of the town” and echoed Crawford in backing the proposal.
Select Board member Dick Dalton added that he would “fully support going forward with this.”
“I think it’s incumbent upon us to support our natural resources in town,” Dalton said.
Crawford said the town will address the proposal in the budget process, and said he believed the state legislators representing the town, including state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) and Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading), could secure grants to aid in the funding of the study or potential dredging.
“I think you’ll certainly have the support of the board here,” Crawford said.
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].
