Cleaning up at Shelter Island’s Fresh Pond

BY JIM COLLIGAN, PETER GRAND AND JOE FINORA

The Fresh Pond Neighbors Association (FPNA) has taken initial steps to clean up Fresh Pond.

The association raised $10,000 from members and others who support the pond cleanup and worked with the Town to hire Solitude Lake Management to annually remove harmful algae mats and decaying lily pad stems and leaves that exacerbate the water quality problems at Fresh Pond.

The lily pad roots are left unharmed and will regrow each year, helping to remove even more nitrogen and phosphorus from the lake and aquifer.

This relatively inexpensive process will enhance public access at the pond and improve seasonal water quality. The initial step, which included a mechanical harvest of the existing “nuisance species,” was completed on July 16 and 17.

Restoration of Fresh Pond will require a two-track approach. The initial phase has begun, namely the yearly removal of harmful plant biomass and nutrients from the pond.

These plants typically grow in the more shallow areas in spring and early summer, and then begin to decay by mid-summer and early fall, causing blooms and health risks in areas where people kayak, swim and fish.

The phosphorus released in this process settles to the deepest pond bottom sediment, but is recycled back into the upper waters during each spring and fall turnover, when the temperature gradients reverse.

The second phase is a “long-term” fix, which may take up to eight to 10 years of slow filtration. It’s also more expensive. The FPNA, along with Town Engineer Joe Finora and a team of other engineers and biologists, have developed a plan to remove phosphorous and nitrogen from the bottom of Fresh Pond.

They have submitted a plan to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for formal permit approval which is expected soon.

The FPNA and the Town of Shelter Island are seeking both County and State grant funding to execute the plan.  These grant applications require a 50-50 or 75-25 match if both county and state grants are awarded. Together, they match each other as full funding for the next phase.

Fresh Pond is an important town asset that has always been a Town recreational area. In recent years, the Town and the neighbors worked to welcome public access to the pond and installed educational signage at Fresh Pond Road and the Turkem’s Rest preserve. With grants and private fundraising the Town and neighbors hope to restore Fresh Pond to a long-term healthy state.