Will Swimming in Worcester’s Ponds and Lakes Make You Sick?

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

A report released by the Commonwealth shows that more than 60 lakes and ponds in Central Massachusetts of the roughly 3,000 in the Bay State are deemed Category 5, or “impaired or threatened for one or more uses and require a TMDL (total maximum daily load)” to ensure an acceptable pollutant level.

There are eight Category 5 ponds, rivers and lakes in Worcester, including Beaver Brook, Blackstone River, Burncoat Park Pond, Coal Mine Brook, Middle River (otherwise known as “Mill Brook”), and Tatnuck Brook. Two rivers are unnamed tributaries.

SEE SLIDES BELOW: Central MA’s Most Polluted Lakes and Ponds

Indian Lake in Worcester - which has been shut down twice in the past five weeks for algae treatment - is considered category 4a. This means that the lake was polluted but all pollutants have been addressed.

"A sample was taken before the treatment on Monday, and we are currently waiting for the “after” test," said City of Worcester Communications Specialist John Hill. "As for other bodies of water, the Department of Inspectional Services is now sampling all the public bathing beaches for bacteria (E. Coli) in advance of the July 1 opening. There have been no signs of algae at any other body of water in the city."

Some of the pollutants addressed included aquatic plants and dissolved oxygen.

According to a report from Project Oceanography, “Most problems with aquatic plants arise when growth becomes too dense. Thick plant growth can invade areas used for recreational activities such as swimming and fishing. Unnatural amounts of plant growth are usually caused by high levels of nutrients. These nutrients enter the lake through runoff of fertilizers, agricultural waste, and failing septic systems. Excess nutrients in the water cause accelerated plant growth.”

If Indian Lake has an algae issue still, what about the rest of the lakes and ponds in the area?

"I don’t believe the lakes and ponds in Worcester and the surrounding area are unsafe. They absolutely need to be a higher priority though," said Beth Proko, President of the Indian Lake Watershed Association. "Urban waterways such as Indian Lake have been degrading for many years due to numerous factors including nutrient filled runoff from unprotected development, streets and parking lots; people dumping into storm drains; phosphorus from fertilizers and detergents. The watershed is a very large area expanding well into Holden. Just because someone doesn’t live on the lake or an inlet, doesn’t mean their actions aren’t having an effect on its health."

The Massachusetts Year 2014 Integrated List of Waters was submitted to the EPA as required by law under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, as states, territories, and authorized tribes are required to develop lists of impaired waters. These are waters that are too polluted or otherwise degraded to meet the water quality standards set by states

Pollutants and Pollution

"Clean water is a big issue with a lot of different elements," Environmental Engineer Rick Dunn told GoLocalWorcester. "It should be noted that "pollutant" and "pollution" are two separate things. Pollutants are things such as nutrients, heavy metals that can wreck havoc. "Pollution" refers to thing such as dams, physical blockages. Category 5 deals with pollutants, while pollution would fall under the 4C designation."

Last July, Indian Lake was shut down indefinitely due to high levels of cyanobacteria algae. These naturally-occurring algae grow best when aided by certain environmental conditions such as warm weather, sunlight, and excessive nutrients in the water. These nutrients usually come from human related sources. Phosphorous and nitrogen – which are commonly found in fertilizers, storm water runoff, wild waste, and other agricultural activities – are two key nutrients that aid in the growth of cyanobacteria.

According to Proko, several problems do still exist. For instance, there is no requirement for lakes and ponds to test for algae until the state issues an advisory relative to using the water body (this is what happened at Indian Lake in 2014), there are hundreds of different types of algae and some have similar visual characteristics as blue green, there is not a cost effective or quick way to test for algae (The test must be done in a lab and the tests run about $300 each), and once the lake reaches the state advisory level for blue green algae, the state will not let the algae be treated.

"In the case of Indian Lake, we waited and waited and waited," said Proko. "The advisory was lifted at the end of October 2014, when the numbers fell below the state advisory level on its own."

Copper Sulfate Raises Questions

Indian Lake

On Monday, Indian Lake had a copper sulfate treatment applied to reduce the algae bloom.

"The Copper Sulfate treatment went as expected...The algae counts were relatively low in the sample taken last week," said Proko. "The lake had a green tint and some signs we thought may be leading to a cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) bloom. We found out Friday afternoon that the numbers were still low but decided to move forward with the treatment to knock out anything that was brewing. It is essentially a half treatment and the lake was open for all activities again this morning."

"Copper sulfate is extremely toxic on a LD50 basis - it takes only a tiny bit to kill you. However, in minute quantities it is a nutrient," said a person with knowledge of pesticides. "So it is hazardous when applied, but if diluted properly, it is not harmful to humans. That being said, it is harmful to a number of aquatic organisms, and copper is a metal that will accumulate in the sediment if applied repeatedly over a number of years."

"We're trying to make all of our waterbodies in the state fishable and swimmable," said Dunn. "In the environmental world, there are lots of moving targets however. Today's issues are with elements that are microscopic, whether it be too much phosphorus in freshwater, or nitrogen in salt water.”

Related Slideshow: See the List: Central MA’s Most Polluted Ponds and Lakes

Below is a list of lakes and ponds in Central Massachusetts considered to be Category 5, or “impaired or threatened for one or more uses and require a TMDL (total maximum daily load)” to ensure an acceptable pollutant level.

Definitions of Frequent Pollutant Terms:

Non-native Aquatic Plants - refers to plants from other countries, regions, or continents.
Aquatic Plants (Macrophytes) -A decline in a macrophyte community may indicate water quality problems and changes in the ecological status of the water body. Such problems may be the result of excessiveturbidity, herbicides, or salinization. Conversely, overly high nutrient levels may create an overabundance of macrophytes, which may in turn interfere with lake processing.
Excess Algal Growth - When the water is rich in nutrients from too many fish and the lighting is strong, it may result in the excessive growth of algae. A large number of algae in the tank compete with oxygen producing plants for the nutrients, light and oxygen
Fish Kills - result from low concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the water
Escherichia coli (E.coli) - found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms). Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in their hosts.
Dissolved Oxygen - Low dissolved oxygen can result in the death of plants and animals.
Turbidity - is a measure of the degree to which the water loses its transparency due to the presence of suspended particulates.

Will Swimming in Worcester’s Ponds and Lakes Make You Sick?

SEE SLIDES BELOW: Central MA’s Most Polluted Lakes and Ponds

Pollutants and Pollution

Copper Sulfate Raises Questions

Related Slideshow: See the List: Central MA’s Most Polluted Ponds and Lakes

Aldrich Pond

Arcade Pond

Beaver Brook

Blackstone River

Burncoat Park Pond

Cedar Swamp Brook

Coal Mine Brook

Cook Allen

Dark Brook

Fish Pond

Hayes Pond

Kettle Brook

Lake Ripple

Manchaug Pond

Marble Pond

Middle River "Mill Brook"

Mill River

Mumford River

Number 1 Pond

Poor Farm Brook

Riley Pond

Singletary Brook

Sutton Falls

Tatnuck Brook

Welsh Pond

West River

Woodbury Pond

Woolshop Pond

Beaver Brook

Boyce Brook

Lake Monomonac

Lake Rohunta

Lawrence Brook

Millers River

Otter River

Tully River

Whites Mill Pond

Whitney Pond

Asnebumskit Brook

Bartlett Pond

Fort Pond

Gates Brook

Lake Shirley

Malagasco Brook

Mirror Lake

Monoosnuc Brook

Muddy Brook

Nashua River

North Nashua River

Partridge Pond

Still River

Alum Pond

Cady Brook

Cohasse Brook

Glen Echo Lake

Hatchet Brook

McKinstry Brook

Morse Pond

Pistol Pond

Quinebaug River

Sibley Pond

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