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.
