Activities History
2011
Reservoir Fall Planting - Saturday
September 10
We planted a bunch of new plants from the New England
Wildflower Society and also welcome donations as indicated below: Columbine
(aquilegia canadensis), the native red and yellow only Purple coneflower
(Echinacea purpurea) both the purple and white varieties but not cultivars like
"Little Kim" Black cohosh (cimicifuga racemosa) Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium
fistulosum) Boneset (eupatorium perfoliatum) Culver's root (veronicastrum) Marsh
marigold (Clethra palustris) NY Ironweed (vernonia noveboracensis) Obedient
plant (physostegia) Solomon's seal (polygonatum) Rudbeckia hirta, triloba and
lacinata. We are interested in other plants, so please call Jim Marzilli
at 781-641-2334 if you have others that you think might be of interest. See the recommended
donated plant list below Plant Donations.
Aquatic Weed Harvesting at the
Reservoir - Saturday Aug 6
Thanks to everyone who came
out to the Res Saturday morning to hand harvest water chestnuts. We had 21
people turn out and collected a lot of plants along the shoreline before they
went to seed. The mechanical harvesting will likely continue for another day or
so to collect the dense masses from the more central areas. This will
necessarily be a multi year effort, but each following year should be
significantly less work.
Here's a link to some photos from the event:
http://www.flickr.com//photos/31759445@N06/sets/72157627245454125/show/
The Arlington Reservoir has become infested
with a number of invasive aquatic plants: water chestnuts, Eurasian watermilfoil,
curlyleaf pondweed and coontail. The most problematic of these are the water
chestnuts (Trapa natans) which in addition to covering much of the surface of
the water with an impenetrable growth produce obnoxious floating seeds with
vicious spikes.
The mechanical harvesting of the water chestnuts at the Res is
making good progress and will likely be nearly complete by Saturday.
However the mechanical harvester can not get all the plants in shallow water
near the shore. Thus we need volunteers to gather the stragglers that remain
before they drop seeds for new plants.
So this Saturday Aug 6 from 9 am to noon has been
selected for hand harvesting of water chestnuts at the Res. We need people both
on the water and on shore, but we especially need canoes. The plan is to collect
the WC in recycling bins (since they drain well) via canoes and waders and then
pile them on shore for DPW to haul away and incinerate.
Please let us know if you can help out -
especially if you can provide a canoe or waders. Please bring if you
can: bins for collecting the plants (recycling containers or laundry
hampers), bungee cords (for securing containers to canoes), heavy rubber gloves,
hat/sunblock, change of shoes & socks, canoes, waders and life preservers. We'll meet at the
east end of the Res parking lot. You can also contact us at
info@arlington2020.org . Thanks.
Reservoir Wildlife Habitat
Garden - Mulching and Planting Day Saturday May 28
Thanks to everyone who came out on May 28 to mulch the garden
and to put in some new donated plants. This will help keep our plants
healthy and relatively weed-free. Our activities over the summer will
focus on keeping the garden in good health with an emphasis on watering.
Hopefully we will have a water line installed before the end of June which will
make that much easier.
We also plan to put in some more plants (probably in the Fall) and would like to
encourage donations of appropriate native plants. See the recommended list
below.
The Vision 2020 Reservoir Committee has already spent a lot of
money on soil, plants and erosion controls. We also need to raise about
$1100 for materials for the water line. So we welcome financial contributions (which are tax
deductable) to keep us going. Send them to the Arlington Land Trust, P.O. Box
492, Arlington, Massachusetts, 02476 and mark them for the Reservoir Garden.
Website: http://www.arlingtonlandtrust.org/
Recommended List for Donated
Plants
We are interested in receiving donations of plant
materials. We are trying to use material that is native to the state and the New
England area. In particular, we are seeking a range of plants but especially:
- Columbine (aquilegia canadensis), the native red and yellow only
- Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) both the purple and white
varieties but not cultivars like "Little Kim"
- Black cohosh (cimicifuga racemosa)
- Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum)
- Boneset (eupatorium perfoliatum)
- Culver's root (veronicastrum)
- Marsh marigold (Clethra palustris)
- NY Ironweed (vernonia noveboracensis)
- Obedient plant (physostegia)
- Solomon's seal (polygonatum)
- Rudbeckia hirta, triloba and lacinata
We are interested in other plants, so please call Jim
Marzilli at 781-641-2334 if you have others that you think might be of
interest. At the end of this paragraph is a nice little web site for other
plants that may be of use but some listed plants have cultivation requirements
that our site cannot meet. The list also has flaws in scientific nomenclature on
what they call "purple butterfly weed" and "purple Joe-Pye weed" so tread
carefully if you work from this list. Some shrubs would also be of high interest
but please call me before bringing them.
http://www.projectnative.org/HerbaceousPerrennials.php
And if you want lots of technical info, I always recommend the
New England Wild Flower Society www.newfs.org
From Jim Marzilli jim@marzilli.org
Reservoir Wildlife Habitat
Garden - Planting Day Saturday April 30
Saturday was a great day for planting the Reservoir Wildlife
Habitat Garden. Many thanks to all the volunteers who showed up to make it a
success. Both sides next to the spillway have new topsoil and new plants.
However we need to make sure the plants get adequate water
both to get them started properly and to survive the summer. We will be
organizing efforts to make sure this happens.
Thanks to everyone. David White for the Vision 2020
Reservoir Committee
2006
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Kiosk Installed - With thanks to Andrew Fischer
(for his bulletin board donation) and to students of The Workplace at AHS
(for their installation effort), the Reservoir now has a lovely wooden
bulletin board installed and ready for use. It is located at the end of the
parking lot away from the beach where the walking path and the driving path
converge. If you have any neighborhood announcements or information to share
about bird and wildlife sighting, there's now a place to post it. We are
also trying to get a trash barrel in this area, as well. Here's a
photo. Enjoy the fall!
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Fall work day - Saturday, Sept.
30th, 9am to 1pm. The V2020 Reservoir Committee sponsored a
Fall Work Day. Rain or shine, we will do some trail maintenance by spreading
wood chips (provided by the Town) along the paths from Lowell St. beyond the
beach and along Busa Farm.
We also cleaned up areas in the beach and around the walking path. See the
happy crew here.
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Landscape Plan Meeting - Thursday, July 31 at 6:00 at the Res. Public
presentation on the landscape / planting plan. Now that the construction phase of the dam project is complete, 100 trees
and some native plantings will be restored -- in the dam area, beach area
and beach parking lot. Cathy Garnett of the Reservoir Committee and
Conservation Commission will present the plans, which have been okayed by
the Conservation Commission and Park & Recreation Commission. There will be
time for discussion and Q&A for this next phase of the project, which we
expect to be done in the fall. A copy of the plan will be left at the beach
for display after the meeting.
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Town Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Reservoir Dam Project - Friday, June
9th at 9 AM. The ceremony took place at the bridge of the new
spillway. Check here for the
project handout.
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May Flooding Pictures.
The
new spillway gets its first use.
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Community Earth Day Clean Up, April 22, 11am-1pm.
Community Earth Day Clean Up Arlington Reservoir, Lowell Street
Saturday, April 22, 11am-1pm, rain or shine Meet at the new bridge (near
Hurd Field).
Kids and Adults welcome, trash bags provided - bring your own gloves! For
information contact Suzanne McLeod, 781 641-4199.
See photos from the Clean Up
2005
-
Site Walk Report from 9/1/2005:
John Sanchez, Teresa DeBenedictis of DPW
and Mark Mitch the project engineer
escorted a group of over twenty through the construction site, explained the various
phases and accomplishments of the project. The work has progressed very well
and the construction activities including a new dam gate are likely to be
completed in the next month. See also the
article from the Arlington Advocate.
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Site Walk Report from 6/9/2005:
For those unable to attend last evening's tour of the dam construction
site...you missed a real treat! John Sanchez and Teresa DeBenedictis of DPW
escorted a small group through the construction site, explained the various
phases and accomplishments of the project and answering the questions of
committee members.
The project is approx. 50% complete and is on target with cost, schedule and
accomplishment! It has 3 phases: 1 - inserting sheet piling along the perimeter;
2 - replacing the gate and updating the existing overflow structures; 3 -
constructing the 50' auxiliary spillway
The sheet piling is in and mostly has its concrete cap covering it; the work
to update existing overflow structures and construct the auxiliary spillway is
well underway. The auxiliary spillway and the work being done is impressive
(without really being extremely intrusive). The effects of the elimination of
seepage through the dam, due to the work, has been noticeable. During the dry
spell last week the level of the Reservoir rose by 2" (from its inflows) --
an unheard of condition in years past. A management plan for better control of
the water level in anticipation of storm events / beach season is also going to
be delivered as part of the project. Plans and discussions to improve the beach
parking situation in the next few weeks for this season are also in the works.
There have been no major problems -- which is a major accomplishment for a
technique that hasn't been employed in this area of the country. And the good
news on the environmental impact -- there are trees and wildlife everywhere!!
Tree/branch loss HAS been MINIMIZED and much of the root system of the trees was
well established on the water-side, which made driving the steel sheets easier
and root damage negligible. The wetlands replication area has been put in. We
saw many birds, a confused turtle and NO evidence of waterchestnuts (although
the geese have moved onto the beach for some peace and quiet). The Reservoir
will continue to be an Arlington gem for many years!
David White and I took many pictures and will be putting them up on the
website in the coming days (www.arlington2020.org/reservoir) and hope to get an
update in the Advocate soon. John Sanchez offered another tour in the future.
Will keep you posted. Leslie M.
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The
following information is provided by DPW on the status
of the Reservoir Dam project:
"At long last, the contracts are signed and the contractor is ready to begin the project. The contractor will be mobilizing to the site (setting
up the site trailer, moving equipment to the site, conducting surveying, etc.) beginning this coming week. The first scheduled
actual construction activity is installing the silt fence and haybales the week of Monday, April 11." 3/25/05
"We are in the process of awarding the contract to MIG for the full repair
of the dam. Once contracts are signed, the contractor will submit a
schedule to the town. It is our understanding that they are ready to proceed.
As part of the specifications we made it clear that the contractor has to work
around the beach season without interference with the needed water levels.
However, as you know, all areas around the berm will be closed to the public
during construction."
See also the
project description.
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At the January Reservoir
Committee meeting, those present discussed the desire to put together a photographic
record of the Reservoir area -- pre-dam project/new spillway.
It's an idea late in coming (since the work will begin
before spring), but if anyone with a digital camera is going to be out and about
the Reservoir in the coming weeks and would like to take some pictures
(especially of the area starting at approx. the beach parking lot and all along
the dam/pathway over to Ridge Park) that would be terrific. Or if you (or
someone you know) have a collection of photos that you have taken of the
Reservoir over the years and can gather them together for someone to scan that
would be great too.
Please let me know so that we can make the
necessary arrangements to get them and find a suitable way to archive the
Reservoir's soon-to-be past look.
Thanks, Leslie Mayer (BLMayer@msn.com)
2004
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The Notice of Intent application for the Arlington Reservoir Dam
Rehabilitation project may be viewed at the first floor desk, Planning Dept, of
the Town Hall Annex (enter off of parking lot on Academy St). The proposal
was presented at the June 17th Conservation Commission meeting.
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We're
Cleaning Up the Reservoir and Need Your Help!
Saturday June 5
from 9 AM to Noon.
Come when you can!
(Rain or shine)
Where to meet: The Beach Parking Lot (on Lowell St., Arlington, MA)
What to bring: Heavy gloves and yard tools (We will need a few rakes and
shovels)
What to wear: Long sleeve shirt, long pants and heavy boots (There is poison ivy
growing!) In preparation for the summer season of fun at the Reservoir, we will be
cleaning up trash that has been collecting over the past months and sprucing up
the beach and surrounding area. We would love to have your help!
Please contact Gene Benson (ebbenson@verizon.net) or Leslie Mayer (BLMayer@msn.com),
if you have any questions.
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Stratton School classes visited the Res on June
2.
40 kids from Stratton School trooped around the Res, pretty focused, to look at
birds and draw in their notebooks. Leslie gave the talk in the school
about the Res, me too about birds. A man in a DPW truck suggested we'd better go
back to get our raincoats, as in an hour it'd rain. Instead the sun came out!
The best birds were Canada Geese and Mallards with goslings / ducklings.
And the Orioles! We got to see two nests and the Orioles flying around,
singing, etc.! A birder from the Menotomy Bird Club showed us the first nest,
right at the entrance in the lowest branch of an elm. The other nest we
found almost directly across the pond in a cottonwood tree. Iridescent
Grackles were another appreciated bird, also a Cardinal. Showed my group a
Warbling Vireo. We divided up into small groups which worked well.
Busa Farm looked good over the hedge row -- rows of lettuce and greens.
What actually inspires me to write is
a wild flower we spotted along the earthen dam (we have to spread the word about
saving the trees to other towns!) -- a white flower with six pedals and narrow
lilly like leaves. Looking it up in Newcomb's Wildflowers, it appears to
be a Star of Bethlehem (Ornithologalum umbellatum). It says "slender
plant of fields and meadows" which isn't right, but the description and
drawing certainly seems to identify it as same. by Oakes Plimpton
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There was an open public meeting on Wednesday, April 21 at 7:30 PM in the
Town Hall Selectmen's Hearing Room to learn more about the plans for the dam. See
a PDF of the Advocate article about the
meeting.
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Our last meeting was held on Tuesday February 3 to hear the consultants report about the
Res dam repairs. There appears to be a way the trees can be saved.
Here's the article that was published in the Advocate.
See also the Minutes page for notes from this
meeting.
2003
The report from the
engineers did not happen at this meeting. That was postponed to January.
At the January meeting, DPW
Director John Sanchez and the consultant from Weston & Sampson will be on
the agenda to:
- go over the design concept,
- provide new information that was recently collected in a field survey,
- get input to implement final design, and
- provide an update on the design process.
Those interested in the status of the dam project and the future of the
Reservoir area should plan on attending.
Meetings are in the second floor conference of the Town Hall Annex at 7:30 PM.
See the Minutes page for notes from previous meetings.
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Upcoming Bird Walks sponsored by the Menotomy
Bird Club. Also a Fall Birding essay
by Elizabeth Karpati.
 Sunday,
December 7: Arlington Reservoir
Trips will be lead around Arlington Reservoir thorough fall migration to see
the changing birds over the season. Once the Reservoir is lowered, mud flats
are exposed shorebirds arrive, later ducks show up at what is one of the best
duck ponds per meter in the state. We will also look for migrating songbirds.
Meet in the Hurd Field the parking lot: Drake Street off Mass Ave, just west
of Starbucks on the right. 8:00-11:00 AM. Karsten Hartel and co-leader.
Sunday,
December 21: Arlington Reservoir
Trips will be lead around Arlington Reservoir thorough fall migration to see
the changing birds over the season. Once the Reservoir is lowered, mud flats
are exposed shorebirds arrive, later ducks show up at what is one of the best
duck ponds per meter in the state. We will also look for migrating songbirds.
Meet in the Hurd Field the parking lot: Drake Street off Mass Ave, just west
of Starbucks on the right. 8:00-11:00 AM. Karsten Hartel and co-leader.
Saturday, November 1st,
9:00-11:30 - Keep
Conservation Land Clean and Natural -
A cleanup event organized by Citizens for Lexington Conservation (CLC).
Keith Ohmart will lead us on a service
walk to maintain the trails and clear rubbish along
the Cataldo Conservation Land between Bow Street and the Lexington side of
the Arlington Reservoir. Bring your
branch loppers, rakes and bow saws, and wear sturdy
boots and gardening gloves! Meet at the entrance to the conservation
land near the Bikeway on Bow Street
(the Lexington one) just off the intersection with Mass. Ave. Leader:
Keith Ohmart (781-862-6216)
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Beach and Trail Cleanup took place on Saturday, May 17.
The purpose of this event was to perform trail maintenance and to clean up the area
around the Arlington Reservoir. Here's a picture
of some of the volunteers.
Saturday,
September 6: Arlington Reservoir
Trips will be lead around Arlington Reservoir thorough fall migration to see
the changing birds over the season. Once the Reservoir is lowered, mud flats
are exposed shorebirds arrive, later ducks show up at what is one of the best
duck ponds per meter in the state. We will also look for migrating songbirds.
Meet in the Hurd Field the parking lot: Drake Street off Mass Ave, just west
of Starbucks on the right. 8:00-11:00 AM. Karsten Hartel and co-leader.
Saturday,
September 20: Arlington Reservoir
Trips will be lead around Arlington Reservoir thorough fall migration to see
the changing birds over the season. Once the Reservoir is lowered, mud flats
are exposed shorebirds arrive, later ducks show up at what is one of the best
duck ponds per meter in the state. We will also look for migrating songbirds.
Meet in the Hurd Field the parking lot: Drake Street off Mass Ave, just west
of Starbucks on the right. 8:00-11:00 AM. Karsten Hartel and co-leader.
Saturday,
October 4: Arlington Reservoir
Trips will be lead around Arlington Reservoir thorough fall migration to see
the changing birds over the season. Once the Reservoir is lowered, mud flats
are exposed shorebirds arrive, later ducks show up at what is one of the best
duck ponds per meter in the state. We will also look for migrating songbirds.
Meet in the Hurd Field the parking lot: Drake Street off Mass Ave, just west
of Starbucks on the right. 8:00-11:00 AM. Karsten Hartel and Ann Gurka.
Sunday,
October 19: Arlington Reservoir
Trips will be lead around Arlington Reservoir thorough fall migration to see
the changing birds over the season. Once the Reservoir is lowered, mud flats
are exposed shorebirds arrive, later ducks show up at what is one of the best
duck ponds per meter in the state. We will also look for migrating songbirds.
Meet in the Hurd Field the parking lot: Drake Street off Mass Ave, just west
of Starbucks on the right. 8:00-11:00 AM. Karsten Hartel and Ann Gurka.
Saturday,
November 1: Arlington Reservoir
Trips will be lead around Arlington Reservoir thorough fall migration to see
the changing birds over the season. Once the Reservoir is lowered, mud flats
are exposed shorebirds arrive, later ducks show up at what is one of the best
duck ponds per meter in the state. We will also look for migrating songbirds.
Meet in the Hurd Field the parking lot: Drake Street off Mass Ave, just west
of Starbucks on the right. 8:00-11:00 AM. Karsten Hartel and co-leader.
Sunday,
November 9: Arlington Reservoir
Trips will be lead around Arlington Reservoir thorough fall migration to see
the changing birds over the season. Once the Reservoir is lowered, mud flats
are exposed shorebirds arrive, later ducks show up at what is one of the best
duck ponds per meter in the state. We will also look for migrating songbirds.
Meet in the Hurd Field the parking lot: Drake Street off Mass Ave, just west
of Starbucks on the right. 8:00-11:00 AM. Karsten Hartel and Ann Gurka.
Sunday,
November 23: Arlington Reservoir
Trips will be lead around Arlington Reservoir thorough fall migration to see
the changing birds over the season. Once the Reservoir is lowered, mud flats
are exposed shorebirds arrive, later ducks show up at what is one of the best
duck ponds per meter in the state. We will also look for migrating songbirds.
Meet in the Hurd Field the parking lot: Drake Street off Mass Ave, just west
of Starbucks on the right. 8:00-11:00 AM. Karsten Hartel and co-leader.
2002
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School groups toured the Res. Read
all
about it at the Town website.
See also the new Res
tour guide.
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Busa Woods and Trail cleanup took place on Saturday, September 28th.
The Arlington reservoir has beautiful trails that surround it and they have been
neglected over the years. There is a particular area between the beach and Busa farms
that needs particular attention. People have been dumping yard debris for years and
its time to bring the area back to its natural state. The purpose of this event is to perform trail maintenance and to clean up the area
between the Arlington reservoir and Busa farms.
Pictures of the day: Trail Work, Moving
Chips, Mining Chips, Lunch
Break
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Water Chestnuts were mechanically harvested from the Res at the end of
July. The volume was much reduced from last year. However some still
remain in the most shallow areas and hand harvesting is the only way to remove
them. A picture and the report.
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Water Chestnut Harvesting at the Res Saturday, May 25
We will begin at 9 AM, but if you cannot get there until later, please come later. We will be uprooting
the water chestnuts from canoes and kayaks - if you have a canoe or kayak, please bring it, along with a life jacket. If you do not have a canoe or
kayak, please come anyway. Some of us will be doing a shoreline clean-up, others will be collecting the plants uprooted by the folks in boats. There
should be extra life jackets and extra boats so that you can go out in the boat even if you do
not bring one. If you bring a boat, please park in the parking lot on Lowell St. If you have waders and would like to do that,
please bring them. Here's a picture.
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Lexington's Zoning Board of Appeal held a hearing on
the proposed Busa Farm development (next to the Res) on Thursday, May 9, 2002.
-
Last night the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4-1 against granting a frontage
variance to Dan Busa so he could build a driveway and "mansion" adjacent to Munroe
Brook and overlooking the farm and Reservoir. About 40 neighbors and others showed up,
probably 25-30 against the variance. David Hornstein and several other people spoke
eloquently on the issue.
This decision gives renewed hope to thoughts of helping the farm owners preserve their
farm, and to coming up with funding ideas and collaborative planning between both
towns' officials and volunteers to ensure stewardship of the broader Reservoir/Great
Meadows watershed area. -- Ann LeRoyer
-
We have prevailed at last! Thanks to all who came to Thursday's meeting. For those who weren't there, we
had a good turnout of about 25 people, many of whom spoke out against the development. In the end, the
board voted 4-1 against, although the chairmen voted in favor. During the meeting, the chairmen seemed a bit
unsympathetic to the arguments of our group, which led many in the audience to fear the worst. But when the
zoning board began to discuss the matter among themselves, it became clear that there was no support
among the rest of the board for the variance.
In retrospect, I've wondered whether it would have been defeated even without our efforts, since the issue was
decided on a clear-cut regulatory basis: lack of frontage is not grounds for a variance. Yet I think our role was
important in keeping the board honest. Zoning boards are free to interpret regulations as they see fit, and can
be subject to influence. However, any decision can be appealed to the state land court, which often overturns
local rulings. Our presence put the board on notice that we would not be satisfied with a decision that did not
adhere to the regs. Since boards look bad when they are overruled, they had to put aside whatever sympathy
they may have had for Dan Busa and stick to the issue.
It still remains a mystery why Busa took it as far as he did, give the expense he has incurred with legal and
engineering fees over this protracted process. Either he got bad advice from his lawyer, or he was somehow
confident that he would prevail given his standing in the community. Given the chairmen's support, I wonder if
Busa had received some indication that he would get a sympathetic hearing.
Now that the ugly part of the struggle is behind us, we come to the fun part where we join together as a
community to plan for the ultimate goal- long-term protection of the farm through either purchase of the property
or the development rights. Fran Busa has reiterated that he receives constant offers from developers for the
parcel, and the farm has done poorly for the last five years, making those offers increasingly attractive. Joyce
Miller, chair of the conservation commission, repeated at the meeting the town's strong interest in acquiring the
farm. So it's up to us to set the wheels in motion to get all the parties together and come up with a long term
plan. In the end, it will be a great accomplishment that we will feel good about for years to come. Every time our
kids pass the farm, they can say- "It's still there because of all the hard work my parents did way back at the
beginning of the century"!
-- David Hornstein, 781 862 0507, David@light-house-design.com
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Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows (FoAGM). All are invited to attend the meetings of the Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows, a
group dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of Arlington's Great Meadows
(in East Lexington). See also the
Frances Clark's Great
Meadows report.
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-
At the meeting on April 8, 2002 (minutes) we
discussed the latest plans from DPW regarding a Mill Brook study and the
proposed Reservoir warrant article.
-
-
At the meeting on January 23, 2002 (notes) the
consultant presented information about the need of maintaining the Res dam for
flood control.
2001
-
At the meeting on December 18, 2001 (notes) there was a lot to consider after the
meeting on Dec 10 with DPW and its consultants (meeting
notes).
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At the meeting on November 7, 2001, Rich Bento announced that the state has informally
approved the 500 year storm event as the design storm for the
Reservoir. This significantly reduces the size of the overflow spillway
among other things.
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The Water Chestnut harvesting
started the week of
July 26 and continued for about two weeks. Aquatic Technologies did the mechanical harvesting and
Roger Frymire is doing the hand
pulling. This is the second year of what is likely to be a 3 to 4 year
process. You may contact Cori Beckwith at the Arlington Conservation
Commission 781-316-3012 with any questions.
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A meeting was held on Monday, June 18 at 7:30 PM in the Town
Hall Annex second floor conference room.
This was the first meeting after the public information session on May 22'nd, so that
was the focus of the
agenda. See the Minutes
page for notes from this and previous meetings.
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Arlington Reservoir Public Meeting Tuesday May
22, 2001
Town
officials and outside engineering and design consultants presented
information on the following Reservoir topics:
- the history of the reservoir and its role in the watershed;
- functional uses, including surface water management, flood control ,
recreation, open space, and wildlife habitat;
- current concerns and options regarding dam repair and safety, landscaping,
beach and swimming area, water quality and accessibility.
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A meeting was held on Tuesday, April 24 at 7:30 PM in the Town Hall
Annex second floor conference room. We heard from the landscape architect. See the Minutes
page for notes from the previous meetings.
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Water Chestnut harvesting is being planned for this Summer. The Arlington Conservation Commission
held hearings on March 15. The application was brought to the
Lexington Conservation Commission on April 10 and has been approved.
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A meeting was held on Monday, February 26. Meeting Minutes
and the latest DPW Report are available.
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You may also join our email list to receive regular notices about the
group's activities. Email List Instructions.
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The Conservation Commission approved test wells at
their meeting on 1/18/01. As of 2/2/01 the test wells have been completed
with observation ports in place.
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A meeting was held on Wednesday, January 24, 2001. Minutes of
this meeting are
available.
2000
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A meeting was held on Wednesday, December 20, 2000. Minutes of
this meeting are
available.
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A meeting was held on Monday, November 27, 2000. See the Arlington
Advocate article from a reporter who attended that meeting. Minutes of the meeting are
available.
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A meeting was held on Wednesday, November 8, 2000. Minutes of the meeting are
available.
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Bird Walk around Arlington Reservoir was held on Saturday, November 18, 2000.
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Committee Meeting - October 25, 2000.
Some major changes are being recommended for the Res. See the consultant's
report for details. Minutes of the meeting are
available.
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Committee Meeting - September 26, 2000 in the Town Hall Annex to discuss
the current status of Reservoir.
- Update on consultant's study.
- Report on the results of the survey of attitudes and thoughts about the
Res.
- Presentation by Lexington residents about the proposed building by the Lex.
Christian Academy in the watershed of the Res.
- List and prioritize issues and action steps.
- Decide how to communicate electronically so as to reduce/eliminate
multiple
postings.
- Plan next meeting.
-
Great Meadows Walking Tour was held on Sunday April 30, 2000.
-
A meeting was held on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000. The agenda was to: 1) bring everyone up to date who did not attend the dam consultant's presentation; 2) discuss the presentation and the options
available; and 3) discuss where we go from there. Also, over 1,000 surveys about the Res that were included with the Town census were completed and
returned. Leslie has them and may be able to give us some idea of the how the survey results are going.
-
A meeting was held on Thursday January 20, 2000 to discuss
the Consultant's Report
on the Res. The consultant from Weston and Sampson presented their
initial findings and analysis of the Reservoir Dam, and the
alternatives the town has to meet the state and federal requirements for dam
safety and related questions. Meeting Notes.
1999
-
The Conservation Commission sponsored a Great
Meadows meeting Wednesday, December 1, 1999 to discuss
management options and issues of concern. The ConCom has hired Frances
Clark to do a management plan for the Meadows which are an undeveloped area in
Lexington that feed into the Reservoir and Mill Brook. See the Resources
page for a map and other information about the Great Meadows.
-
A brief survey about the Res was sent out with the
town census mailing.
Floyd Flood Control: The DPW also used the flood-controlling
powers of Arlington reservoir to keep Mill Brook from rising too high on
Thursday. The department used the dam at the reservoir to throttle
the flow of the rainwater successfully, said Bento. Flooding did
not become a problem it had been during previous storms. - Arlington
Advocate, 9/23/99
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