Community Corner

No Herbicide Treatment at Swimming Area This Year

Middlefield's Parks and Recreation Department will not seek a permit to apply an aquatic herbicide to reduce weeds at the town's beach swim area.

Middlefield's Parks and Recreation Department has decided not move forward with a proposal to use an aquatic herbicide to reduce the weeds at the Lake Beseck beach swim area.

The town's Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency was scheduled to vote on the department's application this week.

Although the treatment has been determined to be safe and has been used elsewhere in the state, officials said curly-leaf pondweed is already too far grown in the lake for the treatment.

"Due to the Potamogetan Crispus coming in too far ahead of the processes to finalize permitting, we feel that we are too far behind target for the treatment to be financially worthwhile for Middlefield Parks & Recreation," a letter sent to Lake Beseck Association members from Amy Poturnicki said.

Poturnicki told Patch the department will seek other, temporary methods of removing the weeds such as using the lake's lifeguards to rake them out.

Curly-leaf pond weed is an invasive species. The town is in the process of determining the best measures to improve water quality at the popular lake during the upcoming drawdown of the lake during dam repairs.

Lifeguards are on duty at the swim area from early July through mid-August.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here