October 12, 2004

Reverse Noah's Ark.

Today is the day that "drawdown" begins on Pawtuckaway Lake.

Drawdown is the annual lowering of the lake, by 7-8 feet, for the winter. The conventional wisdom is that drawdown is good for several reasons. It facilitates shoreline maintenance, it keeps the ice-pack away from shoreline structures, and it minimizes the effects of all the water that pours into the lake during the spring snow-melt.

Now scientists are questioning whether it may have unreasonable side-effects. Fosters':

In recent years the Department of Environmental Services began studying long-term effects of draw down at Ashuelot Pond. Mussels, frogs and plants can be killed by sudden drawdown, causing a domino effect of environmental problems.
Posted by jackhodgson at October 12, 2004 02:20 PM