Gobi Announces $50K Worth of Funding to Clean Lake Wickaboag

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

GoLocalWorcester Political Team

Senator Anne Gobi

Senator Anne Gobi announced the release of $50,000 worth of funding for the dredging of Lake Wickaboag that had been appropriated in the FY19 budget.

“I have been proud to partner with the Lake Association, and I share their concern for the long term health of the lake. I look forward to continuing this work and assisting preservation efforts so future generations may also be able to enjoy it,” said Gobi.

The project will help remediate the high phosphorous levels, algae blooms, and weeds needed to maintain healthy animal life.

Lake Wickaboag

Located in the town of West Brookfield, the lake covers approximately 320 acres and is a popular recreation destination year-round for fishing, swimming, and boating.

The most common problems facing lakes include sedimentation, nutrient pollution (which promotes algae blooms and excessive rooted plants), and invasive species. Over the last seventeen years, there have been a multitude of projects at the lake to manage the water quality, including the construction of stormwater control structure and the dredging of two small ponds adjacent to the lake.

The next, and most ambitious, project is to dredge 350,000 cu. yds. of sediment in the 75 acres of the north cove of Lake Wickaboag creating two pools 6-8 feet deep and increasing the depth of the area by four to six feet. This area has seen a continuous flow of sediment from the tributaries feeding the lake.

Streams that pass through former and current farmland bring silt and sand to the lake making part of the area unusable for recreational activities and contributing to water quality issues in the rest of the lake.