“How the Lake Waramaug Task Force Brought the Lake Back from the Brink” with Sean Hayden

On Monday, May 16, 2022 at 6:30pm the Gunn Historical Museum in Washington, CT will present the Zoom guest lecture, “How the Lake Waramaug Task Force Brought the Lake Back from the Brink” with Sean Hayden.

Historically, Lake Waramaug was a clean, clear lake, but the lake started to exhibit signs of real distress beginning in the 1950’s and continued worsening throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s. The lake’s eutrophication (the gradual dying of a lake) was accelerating dramatically and something needed to be done as persistent toxic algae blooms, hazardous to human health were becoming a continuous problem. Recreational activities on the lake were curtailed, real estate values were falling and the future of the lake did not look promising. Uncontrolled run-off from farms, septic systems, lawns, houses and roads in the lake’s watershed area produced phosphorus levels that soared to over 30 parts per million.

In response to this critical situation, the Lake Waramaug Task Force was founded in 1975 by a group of concerned lake residents. Through the dedicated efforts of volunteers, the Task Force raised substantial funds from federal, state and private sources to support cutting-edge scientific research in limnology (the study of lakes). There are many water-quality projects and programs that the Task Force has been developing and implementing over the past over the four decades, and Mr. Hayden will present a photo-rich tour through all that the Task Force does for Lake Waramaug and its watershed. Their work that has achieved nothing short of spectacular results as evidenced by the lake’s recovery. The Lake Waramaug Association and the Lake Waramaug Task Force are sponsors of this lecture.