Woody Trask, July 2018

In summary, 2017 was a better than average year for water clarity although the water was slightly more colored (yellow/brown tone) than last year.

A full battery of tests (color, pH, alkalinity, conductance, phosphorus and clarity) was conducted monthly from June through September, with additional clarity readings taken by Michael Heskinen, who joined us this year as a certified water quality monitor. Thank you Michael! Phosphorus analyses of water samples taken from the surface and bottom of the pond were performed by the State of Maine Health and Environmental Testing Lab in Augusta. Surface samples showed a slight increase compared to last year but the bottom samples tested slightly lower. Just an anomaly? Who knows? We’ll see what happens in 2018. To my knowledge there were no reports of any significant algae blooms.

The readings for clarity averaged 5.55 meters (18.2 ft.) which is quite high compared to the historical average of 4.64 meters (15.2 ft.) and slightly higher than last year — a positive indicator of the health of the Pond.

The overall water quality of Taylor Pond is considered to be average compared to all Maine lakes. Barring a major environmental event that causes significant soil erosion and phosphorus rich run-off entering the pond, the water quality is expected to remain stable going forward.

The ice-out date for spring 2018 was recorded as April 23, which was 4 days later than last year and about 9 days later than the historical average. The pond froze (gradually) over the last week in December, so there was a longer period of ice cover than last year which is considered beneficial to overall water quality.