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Low Impact Development workgroup warns phosphorus and cyanobacteria threaten Coventry Lake; draft recommendations forthcoming
Summary
The LID Workgroup told the Council that Coventry Lake's watershed faces rising phosphorus-driven cyanobacteria risk and proposed a Watershed Management Plan; the group will bring draft recommendations to the Inland Wetlands Agency for review and later the Council.
LID Chair Lori Mathieu and collaborators briefed the Town Council on April 20 about a year-long Low Impact Development review focused on Coventry Lake.
Mathieu said the workgroup's goals are to identify challenges affecting Coventry Lake water quality and to develop a Watershed Management Plan. Presenters reviewed lake data, explained the role of phosphorus in fueling cyanobacteria blooms, and described how thermal stratification, light penetration and oxygen loss at depth influence the lake's ecosystem.
The group said phosphorus from runoff is the primary nutrient driving blooms and noted that controlling input and sediment is costly but feasible. Mathieu highlighted outreach and research partnerships, including UConn interns who contributed monitoring work. The LID will present specific draft recommendations to the Inland Wetlands Agency and hold a May 16 workshop on lake-protecting plants; final recommendations will be delivered to the council after IWA approval.
In opening remarks, Inland Wetlands Chair Bill Glenney emphasized that the presentation was informational and "pre-decisional" material being developed by the Wetlands Agency, not a request for Council action.
