Maintaining The Quality Of The Lake: The West Hill Pond Association

Categorized | Around NH, Meetings

Maintaining The Quality Of The Lake: The West Hill Pond Association

Posted on 08 August 2011.

By: Maria Moore

The towns of New Hartford and Barkhamsted are blessed to have one of the most beautiful lakes in the state within their borders: West Hill Lake. This article introduces the West Hill Pond Association, a group whose mission is to tend the Lake and its environs. The WHPA will be holding a presentation for the public later this week of the results of its Storm Water Runoff Survey which documents the discharges into the lake.

“Possibly The Cleanest Lake In Connecticut”

Sailing on the lake.

That is how Camp Workcoeman describes the lake and it is not far from the truth. The water of West Hill Lake – or more properly, West Hill Pond – is classified as being of the highest quality in a March 2011 map created by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Achieving this distinction is not something that has happened by chance. For many years it has been the goal of the members of the Lake Shore Property Owners Association; most recently, it has become the goal of the Trustees of the West Hill Pond Association(WHPA).

What Is The West Hill Pond Association?

Ask this question of Skip Sly, President of the West Hill Pond Association (WHPA), and he will tell you: “The Association is an association of associations.” That is, the members of the WHPA represent different groups of shore property owners.

The WHPA was originally formed in 1964 by a group of shore property owners to purchase the dam on the lake from the Collins Ax Company of Collinsville. In 2008 the WHPA was granted Public Non-Profit status by the IRS and it has since begun to take on a more active role in assuring the long-term quality of the lake.

Establishing A Baseline: The Drainage Area And The Discharges Into The Lake

In 2009 the WHPA applied for and was awarded a grant by the Connecticut Federation of Lakes to conduct a Storm Water Runoff Survey documenting the drainage area and the discharges into the lake. This is the first time such a study had been done. The survey was conducted by Lenard Engineering, which undertook a study “to locate inflows into West Hill Pond, delineate their corresponding drainage areas, document existing conditions, create conceptual plans for improvements and prepare a preliminary priority for storm water improvements to maintain or improve existing water quality within the lake” (quoted from the survey). The WHPA will present the survey’s findings to the public this Thursday, August 11. Once the information becomes publicly available, the Association hopes to interest community members to help it establish an action plan that minimizes the damage to the lake from the storm water flows into the lake.

Plan To Attend:

The results of the West Hill Pond Storm Water Survey will be presented at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 11, at Berkshire Hall, Brodie Park, West Hill Road, New Hartford. An abbreviated copy of the survey will be made available at that time. There will also be a sign-up sheet for individuals or groups interested in working with the WHPA in helping it maintain the quality of the lake.

A view of West Hill Lake from Brodie Park. Photo: Maria Moore

Neiltolhurst

Is it a lake or is it a pond? It is up to various individual definitions and word choice. No official or “more properly” definition exists; although West Hill’s depth and lack of sunlight penetration to its bottom, its thermal layers, and its acreage fit several definitions for “Lake.” Consider the following:
·        There are two adjacent road signs at the southwest corner of the intersection of Rt. 44 and W. West Hill Rd. directing motorists to “West Hill Pond” on one and “West Hill Lake” on the other.

·        One of the Trustees of the WHPA is the WHLSPOA: the West Hill Lake Shore Property Owners Association.

·        The Camp Workcoeman website statement you referred to uses “West Hill Lake”: “The camp consists of 550 acres on the shore of beautiful West Hill Lake possibly the cleanest lake in Connecticut.”

·        The Camp Sequassen website uses “West Hill Lake”: “The most exciting local development of the year (1927) was the acquisition of a new site for Camp Sequassen, 125 acres of land on West Hill Lake in new Hartford…”

·        Your 8-16-11 caption for the photo of moored boats uses “West Hill Lake” in its text: “Boats moored at West Hill Lake. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives” There are also numerous other uses of “Lake” in various NH+ articles & captions.

·        Mr. Charles Lee from the Lakes Management Program in Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said there are no clear definitions to distinguish “lake” from “pond” and that individuals have their own ways of doing it. His is based on the presence of thermoclines or thermal layer stratification (deeper = colder) in a body of water. Since those are present in West Hill, he considers it a lake.

·        From New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services:
”The term “lake” or “pond” as part of a waterbody name is arbitrary and not based on any specific naming convention. Names for lakes and ponds generally originated from the early settlers living near them, and the use of the terms “lake” and “pond” was completely arbitrary. Many have changed names through the years, often changing from a pond to a lake with no change in size or depth. Often these changes in name were to make the area sound more attractive to perspective home buyers.Limnologists today recognize that nature can’t be divided into precise, neat categories and accept the fact that there will never be a precise definition. The generally accepted definition of a “shallow lake or pond” is that class of shallow standing water in which light penetrates to the bottom sediments to potentially support rooted plant growth throughout the waterbody. Lack of thermal stratification and the presence of muddy sediments are also common characteristics of this class of water.In contrast, a “deep lake or pond” has both a shallow shoreline area that may potentially support rooted plant growth and a deeper portion where sunlight does not penetrate to the bottom. These waterbodies frequently stratify into distinct thermal layers during the summer.”http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/bb/documents/bb-49.pdf
Neiltolhurst

“…more properly, West Hill Pond…”
What is the source for this?

http://newhartfordplus.com The NewHartfordPlus Crew

It’s shown as such on State of Connecticut maps and on the DEP website. Note the name of the organization that Skip Sly is head of, The West Hill Pond Association.