I am writing to express my concern about the potential decision to remove the Warner’s Pond Dam and the ensuing warrant article for dam removal, being brought to the Concord voters at the 2024 Town Meeting. I have been a resident of Concord for thirty-three years and enjoy Warner’s Pond, by proximity.
The pond is a vibrant habitat to an extensive variety of wildlife. Herons fly from their rookery to the pond to fish. Hawks and eagles frequent the pond, as well as seasonal and year round birds. During mating season, we hear the spring peepers calling for mates and the owls calling to one another from the trees on Scout Island in the pond. In the early days of summer, I share my garden with the snapping and painted turtles that come to lay their eggs. As a cyclist and walker, I enjoy frequent stops at Warner’s, one of the few free bodies of water in our area.
At a recent community meeting, I learned our relatively new dam, the Pail Factory Dam built in 2008, was designed to draw down water as a way to help control invasives. This draw-down feature has not been utilized. If the dam was built with this feature, why has it not been tried? Drawing down the water in conjunction with other means of controlling invasives such as hydro-raking, herbicides, etc. should be tried. This approach could become part of a comprehensive pond management plan and be assessed over time. Until this is tried, it is foolhardy to remove the dam at a much greater expense. It behooves the powers that be to slow down this process and utilize what we already have, rather than destroy it.
Pat Brewer
Wright Road