PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Plans for an Onota Lake boat wash station were made lower-tech after the original proposal became too expensive. This iteration cuts costs while warding off zebra mussels.
The new design includes on-site water storage — rather than sewage and plumbing — and is priced at around $75,000.
Park, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath explained the revision to the Parks Commission on Tuesday while presenting Pittsfield's fiscal 2023 Community Preservation Act applications.
In collaboration with the Lake Onota Preservation Association, the city is requesting $74,500 in CPA funds for a decontamination boat wash station to protect the lake from zebra mussels. The aquatic invasive species was found in Laurel Lake in 2009 and has been established in bordering states.
Once a body of water is infested, there is no current remedy to remove them. High-pressure hot water treatments at a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit or higher are used on boats to prevent contamination.
Originally, the design included a low-impact structure on the northeastern end of the turnaround off Lakeway Drive with the ability to connect to municipal water and sewer.
This was estimated to cost around $250,000.
Because only 10 to 20 boats are turned away by ramp monitors and need decontamination services per year, the planners made cost-saving adjustments that simplify the design while keeping it effective.
"It's a different kind of system, it's not permanently plumbed and sewer," McGrath explained.
"This is one where we bring water in and we fill a water tank because the reality is we're not going to have a lot of boats at this boat wash station."
The new design includes a 500-gallon, above-ground water storage tank and a 1,000-gallon underground waste tank that will be emptied periodically.
Users will pull onto a concrete pad with draining grates to use the diesel-powered hot water system.
The hope is to have the state share some of the operating costs.
McGrath said the infrastructure has a local benefit and a further reaching benefit, as it mitigates the spread of invasive species.
"We've been talking to the state for a number of years about what we're doing to keep Onota Lake free of zebra mussels and this is one more tool in our toolbox," he said.
"So I certainly hope that there's support from the state."
If funding is secured, boaters could see the station implemented as early as the 2024 season.
McGrath said the city's zebra mussel monitoring is largely based on trust, as keeping the lake free of them is in sportsmen and lakeside property owners' best interest.
"It makes sense for us to be looking at this as a preventative option," he said.
$45,000 to support the replacement of two playground structures and swing frames at Egremont Elementary School.
$24,000 for the restoration of two historic stone piers at the southwest pedestrian entrance at Springside Park near the intersection of North Street and Weller Avenue.
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Belchertown Stops Pittsfield Post 68
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Belchertown Post 239’s Cooper Beckwith set the tone when he crushed the game’s first pitch to left-center field for a double.
The visitors went on to pound out 14 more hits in a 9-1 win over Pittsfield Post 68 in American Legion Baseball action at Buddy Pellerin Field on Monday night.
Beckwith went 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice, and Chase Earle went five innings on the mound without allowing an earned run as Post 239 improved to 15-0 this summer and completed a regular-season sweep of Post 68 (12-4).
“He’s a good pitcher,” Post 68 coach Rick Amuso said. “Good velo[city], kept the ball down. We didn’t respond.”
Pittsfield did manage to scratch out a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, when it already trailed, 7-0.
Nick Brindle reached on an error to start the inning. He moved up on a single by Jack Reed (2-for-2) and scored on a single to left by Cam Zerbato.
That was half the hits allowed by Earle, who struck out three before giving the ball to Alex West, who gave up a leadoff walk in the sixth and retired the next six batters he faced.
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