Saturday, January 19, 2013

Beaty St. Pond is Full!


WOW- Beaty St. Pond is Full!

A few years ago we learned that the town had been informed by the State that the dam on Beaty St. Pond was found to be in danger of failing and that the town would be forced to repair the dam or remove it completely.  My neighborhood, being closest to the pond, was quite alarmed by this since many of us love the pond and enjoy visiting it to observe nature, enjoy the beauty of the pond and the many  different kinds of birds and other animals that visit it.  Other people come to visit and some fish and some just enjoy looking and listening like I do.  Children love to go there and play by the pond.  And we know the variety of wildlife we have in our neighborhood must be influenced by the availability of water from the pond.  We were concerned about losing the pond and hoped for the day that the pond could be restored.  For the past couple of years the town had kept the level of the pond artificially low to decrease the risk of the dam rupturing we were told.  We had heard that the town had found a source of money to repair the dam and that plans were underway to repair the dam.  We also heard that the fish would be removed and taken to a pond at a county park while the work on the pond was done.  But we continued to wait.

Then, in late Sept. 2012 the work on Beaty St. Pond began by mechanically draining the pond.  Once the pond was drained and a number of trees were removed, the heavy equipment arrived and the workers began repairing and remaking the corner of the pond that had served as a drain for the overflow of the pond.  The dam was rebuilt and I believe raised a bit.  A concrete pipe was put in with a drain to allow the overflow to drain out of the pond into a small sediment pond that can then drain down into the woods without being such a powerful force when it drains.  It also looks like they installed a pump and a drain in the dam.  I guess that’s in case they need to drain the pond again.  They re-seeded the disturbed areas and most recently installed a cover over the drain in the corner of the pond.  That seems to be something that will keep large sticks etc. from entering the pipe as well as to keep small animals and children from wandering into the drain pipe.

So then all that was left was for the rain to come and fill up the pond.  The fall was dry so the level of the pond was quite low right up to the end of December.  Then, January brought the rain.  First some rain around New Year’s Day began the process.  And the week of Jan 13 we began to get some heavier rains and finally on Thursday Jan 17 we had a real storm with probably 2 inches of rain in that day alone.  And by the time I made pictures on Jan. 18 the pond was full.  So, now we wait for the animals to return.  Maybe the fish will be restocked.  The birds like Great Blue Herons and Belted Kingfishers will come back to fish.  Flycatchers will swoop over the water catching insects.  In the spring frogs, toads, turtles will lay eggs.  The dragonflys and other aquatic insects will return.  The richness of pond life will be restored. 

I look forward to watching, listening, smelling the activity of the pond this year and for many years to come.

Pictures below from early Oct. 2012 until Jan. 18, 2013.









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