projects
Through our monitoring, education and awareness programs, we are seeing improvements in the water quality of Amos Lake. In 2013 Amos Lake was at the mesotrophic/eutrophic boundary. The 2018 study indicates improvements in the water quality to a higher mesotrophic state, indicating our monitoring and outreach projects are making a difference. It is important that we continue down the road of restoring balance to the lake’s ecosystem.
This year’s project continues with the Last Green Valley water quality monitoring and aquatic control. An additional four 10’ x 20’ bottom blankets were purchased with grant funds from The Community Foundation. Bring our current supply to seven. These blankets can be used for several years and can also be moved to a new location after one to three months. On May 1st the original three were reinstalled at the southern end of the lake again to eradicate the milfoil to prevent spread south to Cooks Pond, Avery Pond and Hallville Pond.
In April of 2021 ALA was awarded the CT DEEP Control of Aquatic Invasive Species grant. In addition to the treatment of milfoil this grant will be used to hire a scientific consulting company that specializes in lake assessment and management to develop a lake management plan for AmosLake. The lake management plan will become a critical tool in focusing our future outreach and sustainability projects.
This project would include ongoing water quality observations, secchi disk readings, water sample collection of surface water and watershed streams for analysis in a lab, temperature & dissolved oxygen readings using a profiling instrument, zooplankton sample collection, and algae sample collection as well as suppling our historical data to a limnologist.
By investing in Amos Lake and its watershed, we believe the community and future generations will be rewarded by a clearer, healthier lake and a higher quality of life than would otherwise be possible.
Lakes cannot manage themselves. Lakes are affected by our actions within the lake, along its shorelines and well up into the lake’s watershed or drainage basin. Even distant areas can be connected to the lake by the downstream flow of waters which, in turn, carry pollutants, sediments and nutrients into the lake over time. We all are part of the problem, but we all can do something, no matter how apparently insignificant, to help our lakes. Lakes need to be systematically and purposefully managed over time if we are to sustain their long-term health and viability.