Where to test equipment in MA?

[Soggy]

Anyone know what the pond is just next to Hathaways and if there is access to it?

 

[LobstaMan]

Soggy:

I checked a couple of on line maps and they list the two ponds right next to each other as "The Hathaway Ponds."

LobstaMan

 

[MASS-Diver]

IThis deep, cold water pond was once a favorite training site when ocean conditions were unfavorable, but has since shown problems with bacterial contamination. It is fed by groundwater and an inlet from Little Long Pond, and possibly due to runoff from nearby housing developments Long Pond has failed to meet state guidelines in recent years. Massachusetts water quality standards for E.Coli bacteria in recreational waters is 200 per 100ml of water, but samples in 2003 registered between 2,800 and 4000 per 100ml.

That sucks - I'm sure the levels varry a ton with rainfall/run off - but still that's pretty scary. I guess I'm lucky I never got sick from diving there - as I certainly was in the water there during the 2003 season. yikes

 

[MASS-Diver]

OK, after I though about this for a few minutes, I came to suspect that there was no way in he*l that the numbers where that high for Long Pond. In fact, the numbers are from samples taken right from the outfall pipes going into the pond - while this still very, very bad, the actually counts within the pond are much, much lower.

People swim in this pond, if the levels get too high they will post "No Swimming" signs. While I am still leary about the pond - it's not as crazy a situation as numbesr in thousands woudl suggest!

http://www.sixponds.org/Coliform.html

In fact, if you click on the July sample data - the hathaway counts are higher than for long pond.

 

[oceancurrent]

Just out of curiosity... I've heard that diving is forbidden in Walden Pond. Does anybody know if this is true and why? Isn't it a breach of the Mass law of permitting diving in all public swimming areas?

 

[MASS-Diver]

Just out of curiosity... I've heard that diving is forbidden in Walden Pond. Does anybody know if this is true and why? Isn't it a breach of the Mass law of permitting diving in all public swimming areas?

I did not know that diving there is forbidden, but I'm pretty sure that Walden Pond is a National Historic Landmark and probably has special federal protections that supercede state law???