Town of Hudson
Fort Meadow Commission
September 14, 2009
Dear Resident of Fort Meadow Reservoir:
RE: Lake Drawdown to Begin on Monday ,September 28, 2009 for the Winter
The City of Marlborough and Town of Hudson will begin a drawdown of Fort Meadow Reservoir on Monday September 28. The drawdown will result in a four-foot drop from the normal high water level of the reservoir. Approximately 15-20 days will be needed to draw the reservoir down 4 feet (weather permitting), which translates into a daily drop of about 2-3 inches. Once we reach the 4-foot drop we will keep the lake level down through the winter and begin refilling the lake on March 1st.
The purpose of this year's draw down is to allow for:
1. Weed Control
2. Control of the Asian Clam
3. Repair of the spillway gate
4. Removal of accumulated sand from storm drains
5. Repairs of walls and beaches
Each of these activities is described in more detail below; permits are needed for some of these activities so please read carefully:
1. Weed control - Residents may wish to take advantage of the drawdown to manually remove weeds from the drawdown area. No permit is needed. The weeds collected should be disposed outside the lake in a manner which will prevent them from washing back into the water or decomposing on the beach and leaching nutrients back into the water. If we have a good hard freeze and no snow cover for a few days this will kill the weed roots that are exposed. We hope this will help control some of the remaining invasive weeds that remained after the spot treatment this year.
2. Asian clam control - This year we discovered another invader to our lake, it is called the Asian Clam(corbicula fluminea). See description and photo on the attached flier. Additional web site links are noted on the flier. We are encouraging everyone to walk along the exposed beach area during the drawdown and collect any Asian Clams you might find. This is another non-native invasive species that could cause major problems to our lake if not controlled. It has only been found in three lakes in Massachusetts. Our hope is that the drawdown will freeze them and destroy them. If you find them please collect them and throw them away in your trash. If you find them please call the Marlborough Conservation Office and report the location they were found. We want to keep track of their abundance and where they are located. Please call 508-460-3768, Marlborough Conservation Commission and leave a message with location (near what street number) and number of clams found.
3. Repair of spillway gate- Unfortunately during a routine opening of the gate this summer, the crank handle for the spillway broke and will need to be repaired. This will also allow for some additional repair and maintenance to the spillway gates.
4. Removal of sand from drainage pipes- The City of Marlborough will be inspecting street drainage pipes entering the lake and where needed will remove accumulated sand (weather permitting). If you have areas near storm drains that need cleaning please report them to Tom Temple 508-624-6910 x 7200
5. Minor repairs of walls and beaches- Residents are encouraged to do repairs to your walls, beaches, etc., while the water level is down, however you will need a permit for this work. You can obtain a permit for this work from your local Conservation Commission. A generic Order of Conditions, a Wetlands Protection Act Permit, covers minor maintenance such as placement of new sand or repairing of retaining existing walls along the shoreline. Expansion of shoreline into Fort Meadow will not be permitted. Any new construction or expansion of a wall will require a new permit from the Conservation Commission. To apply for either the generic permit or a new permit, or if you have questions, please contact your Conservation Commission to obtain the necessary forms.
You can reach the Marlborough Conservation Commission at 508-460-3768. Hudson residents must contact the Hudson Conservation Commission at 978-562-2020.
As in the past, we ask that you remove your docks from the water for the winter. We will be refilling the reservoir in March during a time there may be ice cover. When the water rises during refilling this will damage your docks.
If you have any additional question, please contact me at 508-481-0590 or the Marlborough or Hudson Conservation Commissions at the numbers noted above.
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