Pillings Pond | lake

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The man-made mill pond in Lynnfield. AT one time the pond was lined with summer cottages and used as a get-away destination.

In 1990 the town, in response to complaints from abutters to the pond about the smell of rotting vegatation, began a dredging project to deepen the pond and reduce the amount of aquatic plants growing around the pond. A local contractor agreed to dredge the pond for free, provided they could keep the material removed from the pond.

The plan was to section off portions of the pond with coffer dams, and drain those area of water. Heavy equipment would them remove portions of the pond bottom and load it into dump trucks to be hauled away.

From the start, the project was beset by legal issues.
First, area residents raised objections as to where and when heavy construction vehicles would be allowed to operate.

Later, the project was haulted when a pond abutter claimed that the draining and subsiquent dredging directly adjacent to his property caused cracks in the foundation of his home.

Eventually the project continued and by 1995 had moved to the Summer St. side of the pond. By then, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took notice of the project and informed the town that they lacked the necessary permits to run a project of this type.

After initially refusing to admait that they had done anything wrong, the town agreed in 1996 to restore portions of the pond and pay a $36,000 (USD) fine.
www.epa.gov/boston/pr/1996/pr1230a.html

In an ironic twist, while the aquatic plants and associated smell was reduced, the deeper pond provided an excellent habitat for insects and the area around the pond suffered from a mosquito infestation.