If you are one of the many residents who walk the path around the town reservoir you may have wondered about the bright orange balls floating on the water’s surface in recent weeks. They’re not part of a new water sport: they’re markers for an aqua barrier around an area where sediment will be removed to improve the water quality of the pond.
The undertaking is aimed at removing nutrients getting into the pond untreated from the drainage system, said town engineer Tom Ryder, and is part of a multipart project that includes repairs to eroding areas of the walking path.
“We have a drainage pipe that runs from Harris Ave. underneath DeFazio and eventually it discharges after DeFazio Field where the new softball field is, and it meanders into an outlet that discharges into the pond,” said Ryder.
A break in the pipe was discovered nearly eight years ago, which resulted in sediment getting into the reservoir. “So when we started to look at doing the sediment removal here we said we need to clean up the areas that are getting in there first and put that as part of the project. So we fixed the pipe and added some water quality that’s discharged into the pond,” Ryder said.
Beginning in early October, water will be pumped out of the marked area of the reservoir to a high-tech filtering system before being returned to the pond. The work is being done by Maverick Construction Management Services.
The walking path repairs are already underway and it is currently fenced off. That will be adjusted next week when just one area will be closed off for reconstruction. Ryder said three-quarters of the path will remain open for walking while they make improvements, including adding a kiosk. “There’s a lot of visitors here, so we figured we should have some kind of kiosk with information about the reservoir, maybe some history. We don’t yet know what will be in the kiosk, but that’s planned as part of the project,” he said.
Funding for the project was approved by Town Meeting in 2021 and involved a number of permitting processes with the state. Ryder hopes the work will be completed by November and create an improved area with less phosphorus.
“Hopefully there will be more habitat forming areas for the fish and other wildlife,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of swans and ducks and turtles. And a lot of people like to fish here.”
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