Fresh Pond is definitely heavily used, and lots of dogs are walked there daily. There are dog poop bag dispensers all along the path along with many trash bins; most people comply with picking up & disposing their dog‘s waste, though I imagine compliance is not 100%. Only Cambridge-tagged dogs can be off-leash there, non-Cambridge residents’ dogs must be kept on leash—this policy is strictly enforced (and was hotly debated.)
[email protected] > On Jul 11, 2022, at 11:16 AM, Linda McMillan <[email protected]> wrote: > > I think what the Cambridge Water Department was saying was that after a > search of all the published literature at the time, they found that it was > geese poop, not dog poop, that posed a threat to drinking water quality, so > they allow dogs off leash around Fresh Pond. The fence keeps dogs and animals > (and people) from swimming in the water, but the dog waste still seeps into > the ground and ends up in the water, but it hasn’t caused a problem for them. > Dog waste seeping into the ground is the rationale ( I think) that our Water > Department is giving for no longer allowing dogs off leash around Flint’s > Pond. Apparently, this is not become an issue around Fresh Pond despite the > fact that the path is VERY HEAVILY traveled by dogs and people. It’s like a > highway there. > > So, I would just be curious for a response to this from our Conservation > Commission, our Water Department, and the LLCT at the next Zoom meeting > because at the last meeting they stated that no analysis had actually been > done on Flint’s Pond to determine what the source of the ecoli problem was. > It could have likely been the geese. > > I’m not bringing this up for any personal reasons. I don’t go around Flint’s > Pond much at all. I prefer the Pine Hill loop on the other side of Sandy Pond > Road which I am on daily, but I think it’s important that any change in rules > be based on the right information, particularly since it has been this way > for many decades. This would be an historic change. > >> On Jul 11, 2022, at 6:57 AM, Christopher Eliot <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I think the full quote was "After an exhaustive search of the published >> literature on the issue of dog waste and its impact on water quality, they >> found no evidence that dog waste had a negative impact on water quality. >> Instead, they found it was geese poop that was creating a problem with water >> quality.” This might be specific to the Cambridge site and may or may not >> apply to Lincoln. >> >> In any case, I think this shows how much research based information is >> available that can inform these decisions. >> >>> Hello Linda, >>> >>> I suspect what they were conveying to you is that dog poo was not a problem >>> at this particular site. Your statement “After an exhaustive search of the >>> published literature on the issue of dog waste and its impact on water >>> quality, they found no evidence that dog waste had a negative impact on >>> water quality”, is incorrect. While the operative thing is the degree of >>> pollution, dog poo, like many other animal excrements, does negatively >>> affect water quality. This is especially the case where paved surfaces >>> allow water and pollutants to runoff into water bodies. >>> >>> These two flyers, while basic, explains well: >>> https://cfpub.epa.gov/npstbx/files/slc_petwaste.pdf >>> https://cfpub.epa.gov/npstbx/files/Pet%20care%20fact%20sheet.pdf >>> >>> Regards, >>> >>> Donald >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to [email protected]. >> Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. >> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >> > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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