Letter To The Editor: Preserve Manchester's Recreational Lake Now

Manchester’s recreational lakes have gone from two facilities to one, and that one is in jeopardy.

Pine Lake has been closed for years after being plagued by pollution from a variety of sources. The mayor and council’s efforts to restore Pine Lake to its former glory have fallen short. Lake waters test high for bacteria levels and it is not safe for swimming. Aerators have been removed and no restoration plans are in sight.

Township children attend Manchester Day Camp at our only other lake facility--Harry Wright Lake in Whiting. Families and senior citizens utilize the lake each day as well. But what’s happening there? That recreational lake now hosts twice as many day-campers due to Pine Lake’s closure. Geese continue to be a problem. And in recent years, the Harry Wright Lake has been closed more often than ever before due to high fecal coliform levels. Warm water and rainfall runoff increase bacteria levels and we’re lucky to have had mild summer weather so far this year.

What is the town doing about this? What plan is in place to restore or improve the water quality at the Whiting lake? I’ve asked this question every summer for many years and there is still no definitive action plan (aside from general maintenance.) If something is not done, we will have two contaminated lakes in Manchester, and no place for families to swim.

The township has the opportunity to deed-restrict property in their possession at the head-waters to the lake to protect this resource. Will they do it? (Resolution 14-257).

If this administration refuses to take steps to preserve Harry Wright Lake as the natural, scenic “jewel in the pines” that it once was, it will one day be nothing more than a fond memory.