Lake Boon representation in Stow Comprehensive Plan? Take part before May 20

Stow residents are encouraged to participate in the survey for input to the Stow Comprehensive Plan 2035 and this is an opportunity to ensure representation of the Lake Boon community. The survey closes May 20th. To participate, see
https://www.stow-ma.gov/home/news/two-more-weeks-add-your-voice-comprehensive-plan

The Stow Comprehensive Plan 2035: Envision Stow for All of Us will be a 10-year vision and roadmap for our Town’s future. This Plan will be the foundational policy document for our town, guiding local decisions about future growth, preservation, and change. To update the previous Master Plan from 2010, our community will engage in a process to help shape our built environment, envision our desired future for Stow, and select effective strategies to help achieve our vision and goals.

Mass Department of Public Health offers workshop on harmful algal blooms

For Boonies with the time and interest, these free annual workshops have provided a great deal of insight to the behavior of algae, other lakes’ experience, etc. See the agenda here; the notice from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is below.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) will be hosting a virtual half-day Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) workshop on Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, from 9 am – 1 pm.

Our registration page is now live: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/7d8d4111-78b7-436d-a36e-447ea16fba62@909c1787-2f35-4745-8f7d-ec2f2ee631e7 .

The workshop provides stakeholders the opportunity to discuss preparations for the 2024 recreational water season and will include opportunities to engage colleagues and experts with presenters from local, state, and federal agencies on best practices for monitoring and responding to blooms. The agenda is here.

Please feel free to contact the DPH Environmental Toxicology Program at
DPH-Beach@mass.gov with questions or for more information.

Found canoe

This green Coleman canoe has been found in the second basin. It can be picked up by the owner at 126 North Shore Drive.

Discount septic pumping program; sign up by May 18

Once again, the Lake Boon Association is sponsoring a discount septic pumping program this spring. The program will run beginning the week of June 1st. Deadline for sign up is Saturday May 18th. The program is open to anyone living within the Lake Boon watershed or within a mile of the lake.

To register please email David at lbaseptic@gmail.com or call Dave Siewierski at 978-562-2203.

Since the inception of this program many tanks have been pumped at the discount price, saving money for individual homeowners while preserving property values and helping reduce nutrients, algae and weed growth in the lake.

The more frequently a system is pumped (recommendation every 2 years depending on family size), the longer it will last and work well. The LBA sponsors this program spring and fall each year, and so far Rich Casaceli continues to give us a lower price than other area companies for an excellent job!

Please spread the word to your neighbors on Lake Boon so we can continue to do everything we can to clean up the lake and keep our septic systems running well.

Ecological landscaping talk April 24: practice ecological landscaping for the birds, bees, our lake and our rivers

When it rains, do you know where the runoff from your yard goes? It is likely that much of it will find its way to Lake Boon and the Assabet River. Why is this important? Fertilizers and insecticides are harmful to wildlife, particularly insects. What can you do? You can use your yard, no matter its size, to protect native plants, insects and birds, and to ensure cleaner water. This is ecological landscaping.

Find out more at an online talk on April 24 at 7PM focusing on OARS’ ongoing watershed restoration efforts. Learn how you can make a difference! Speakers will be Matt Brown, Executive Director of OARS, and Heather Conkerton, OARS’s Ecological Restoration Coordinator. Wednesday, April 24. Register to get the zoom link here: https://bit.ly/3wgddNS

Found: Trailer wheel

This (presumably spare) trailer wheel floated ashore in the first basin and is now residing at 12 Pine Point Road. If it’s yours, leave a comment to arrange pick-up.

Save these dates: Spring Cleanup, Annual Meeting, Dam Project info and comment deadlines

Earth Week Clean-up Days: Opportunities to join our communities picking up Lake Boon neighborhoods from winter’s littering. Anything you can do any time is appreciated and there is coordination in each town.

Hudson: April 20 (rain date Apr 21) see https://greenhudson.org/town-wide-clean-up-day/

Stow: April 27-28 see https://allevents.in/stow/15th-annual-stow-town-clean-up-april-27-2024/200026253527020

Lake Boon Association Annual Meeting: June 9th, 7 pm at Pompositticut Community Center, 509 Great Road, Stow

Lake Boon Dam Info: The project permitting schedule is available here, indicating no work is likely to begin this year.

Progress on planning and permitting for the Lake Boon dam rehabilitation, including the 233-page Environmental Notification Form submitted to the State, is available at: https://www.stow-ma.gov/lake-boon-dam-project.

There will be an official 20-day comment period from April 10th to April 30th. Comments can be submitted to the Secretary of Energy & Environmental Affairs, 100 Cambridge St, Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114, Attention MEPA Office – Lake Boon Dam Project. It may also be possible to submit comments online once the project is posted at: https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/EEA/MEPA-eMonitor/home

Lake level going up!

With the ice now gone, the boards will be replaced in the dam outfall in the next few days. Depending on rainfall (and maybe snowfall?) the lake level will rise about a foot over the next few weeks. This interim period is the last opportunity to do any waterfront maintenance at low lake levels.

Lake Boon Commission annual report available

The 2023 Lake Boon Commission’s annual report can be accessed here.

LBA Activity: Algae and PFAS issues

The Lake Boon Association has continued our Healthy Lake Boon (HLB) program beyond the State grant period, including its Science Advisory Committee. The prolonged algae blooms last fall spurred a recommendation from the Committee to look into the feasibility of nutrient deactivation in the lake sediment–a major source of phosphorus in late summer/fall. To that end, LBA officers have approved funding an independent expert algae consultant to review data from the HLB program for a recommendation on possible sediment treatment options.

The LBA HLB Science Advisory Committee has also pursued greater understanding of PFAS (Per- and polyFluoroAlkyl Substances, aka forever chemicals). See https://www.mass.gov/info-details/per-and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas. There is significant PFAS contamination from the Mass Firefighting Academy’s use of firefighting foams over recent decades which is showing up in ground and surface waters migrating in the direction of Lake Boon. See Sept 20, 2023 presentation to LBC at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYgM2AZbYs4.

We are gathering additional information on testing (and treatment, if necessary) of private well water and if/how funding may become available to residents. We will keep you apprised of findings on this. The primary concern is ingestion of drinking water. External contact (swimming, bathing, etc.) is of considerably less concern.