Recent E. Coli Detection in Pontoosuc Lake Confined to Lanesborough
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Only Lanesborough's portion of Pontoosuc Lake had recent bacterial exceedances.
During the Lake Management Commission's second meeting last week, members received an update on the situation.
On July 22, the Lanesborough Board of Health closed the Sunrise Street and Narragansett Avenue beaches due to high E. Coli levels. On Tuesday, the town posted that the beach was again closed due to high E. Coli levels.
"We didn't have any bacterial exceedance in Pittsfield, so there's no concern at all last week for any E. coli concerns in Pittsfield,” Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath reported.
Regular monitoring for bacterial exceedances at swimming beaches across the Commonwealth is required. Pittsfield's Board of Health tests Pontoosuc and Onota Lake weekly on Wednesdays throughout the summer.
Lanesborough also conducts weekly testing through its Board of Health, and an exceedance was reported to the state at Sunrise Beach, at the very north end of Pontoosuc Lake.
McGrath noted that he did not see Narragansett Beach on the state's dashboard.
"The City of Pittsfield was made aware of the bacterial exceedance and we, of course, were concerned,” he said.
"Our weekly testing happened the next day on Wednesday. Our results were returned Thursday morning. We did not have a bacterial exceedance at Pontoosuc Lake Park, where we test off of the wall on the north side of the channel, and also proximate to the boat ramp, at this point in time.”
Lanesborough reportedly retested the water, and an all clear was given; there were no exceedances as of July 24. On August 4, the town posted a closure notice due to high E. Coli levels.
The town used its own resources and the Friends of Pontoosuc Lake to get the word out, which is important to keep people out of the water.
When there is a bacterial exceedance, it has to be communicated if it persists for a second day, McGrath explained.
Commissioner Michele Rivers Murphy wants the panel to be informed when those outbreaks happen, whether it's cyanobacteria or E. coli. She successfully motioned for better communication when this kind of information is received, and that Pittsfield has a notification system to the lake commissioners, and eventually looks at disseminating information to the wider public.
"We need to tighten this up because I use the whole lake. People use the whole lake, and they have a right to know that,” she said, later adding that notification has been a challenge on the lakes.
Pittsfield has communicated to Lanesborough that they need to be in the loop so they can tell residents.
Chair James Conant said he would look into having that information communicated through the Code Red system for lake residents.
"That's part of our mission is how can we reach out to people? How can we communicate to people better? How can we educate them?” Conant said.
Tags: e. coli, lakes, ponds, Pontoosuc,
