Southwick Lake Panel Renews Invasive Species Contract, Eyes Watershed Grant

SOUTHWICK -- June 11, 2026, Southwick's Lake Management Committee renewed an invasive species treatment contract and flagged nighttime watercraft speeding as an urgent safety concern at its June 11 meeting. Committee Chair Dick Grandels reported that Solitude Lake Management has been awarded a three-year treatment and assessment contract for Congamond Lakes after an early-season survey found eurasian water milfoil and pondweed but could not yet confirm hydrilla presence. The third year of a $250,000 Army Corps of Engineers hydrilla grant is now active, with a purchase order issued to Stantec for environmental DNA monitoring. A competitive watershed-based plan grant submission is pending a Mass DEP selection decision by the end of June. Member Mike Coombs warned that jet skis and boats operating after dark at speeds he estimated at 50 to 70 miles per hour represent a serious hazard: "Before somebody winds up at the bottom of the lake we need to get something going." The committee also agreed to draft bylaw language on sunken vehicles, targeting a winter special town meeting, and reported that a volunteer-assisted buoy anchoring project on middle and south ponds is nearly complete, needing roughly 60 more bricks.