by Kristi Hobson Edmonston ·
Friday, August 14, 2026
In a special meeting of the Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee Monday evening, Aug. 10, committee members devoted more than 2 ½ hours to addressing public concerns and comments. Approximately 50 people attended Monday’s Zoom meeting, underscoring the importance of Bare Hill Pond to the Harvard community as a whole.
As reported in the Press earlier this summer, the pond’s low water level has prompted some residents to question the committee’s management strategies for Bare Hill Pond. A grassroots coalition of Harvard residents, spearheaded by five residents, Brett Fairbanks, Garry Baer, Barbara Callahan-Griesbach, Mike Griesbach, and Marc Gutman, is asking the committee to explore alternatives to a 6 ½-foot drawdown.
On July 25, the pond committee held a public hearing at which citizens shared their comments, concerns, and questions with committee members. Attendees were invited to voice their thoughts, uninterrupted and without a time limit. The committee also created an email inbox for people to share their opinions.
On Monday, the committee responded to those concerns in detail. Bruce Leicher, chair of the committee, said in an email to the Press that the committee wanted to “educate the community on the data and science acquired over 25 years” as well as correct “misinformation and misunderstandings.” The committee’s presentation included more than 50 slides, many of which directly addressed concerns raised by Harvard residents, including water level, community access, alternative management approaches, watershed and habitat concerns, and regulatory compliance.
Joe Pettirossi, a member of the committee, acknowledged the amount of data can be overwhelming and shared a “dashboard” approach for reading the annual report. The annual report is produced by ARC, Aquatic Restoration Consulting, an environmental consulting firm that provides water quality testing and aquatic plant surveys. Pettirossi focused on specific metrics of pond health, including water clarity and phosphorus levels, and created a dashboard to evaluate how these metrics have performed over the years. According to Pettirossi, the quantity and quality of data, collected over 20-plus years allows the committee to identify trends over time and address issues accordingly.
Overall, the discussions between community members and the pond committee demonstrated a deep appreciation for the volunteer work of the committee, strong community commitment to ensuring the health of Bare Hill Pond, and shared dissatisfaction with the current water level of the pond.
They also indicate an looming impasse between those who would like to pursue alternative strategies and those who support drawdowns.
Leicher, in an email to the Press, said the data indicates drawdowns are the best defense against algal blooms and invasive plant species. He also attributed this year’s lower water level to the drought.
“The Committee’s goal each year is to overfill the pond by 7 inches in the spring, which has happened nearly every year in the past 25 years,” he wrote. This year, he reported, there was 50-year record-low rainfall between April and June. The pond refilled to 90% of “full” as defined in the drawdown permit. The one variable that changed this year was spring rainfall. “While all of us do not want the pond to be lower, the impact to the pond from algal bloom closures, to repopulation of invasive species is far worse,” Leicher said.
Leicher said the committee has discussed and is willing to investigate whether there is a meaningful connection of the winter drawdown to a lower pond level “but that research, like our other work, needs to be data driven.” A one-year snapshot does not offer meaningful results, he said. “Today the best evidence is there is not a significant relationship of cause and effect between the two.”
The grassroots coalition of Harvard residents continues advocating for an alternative strategy. As Baer said in a phone conversation with the Press, “It (pond management) is a tough balancing act. Nobody disputes that. The key point is that it is a balancing act.”
According to Baer, the group started a petition late last week and has already collected more than 100 signatures. The petition asks the Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee, the Harvard Conservation Commission, and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to limit the 2026–27 drawdown to 4 feet. According to Baer, the group plans to submit its petition to the Conservation Commission ahead of its September meeting. Baer also said this informal group of residents seeks a collaborative partnership between the people who manage the pond and its abutters. Moving forward, the pond committee will review the 2026 report from ARC, which will be completed in late August or early September. The committee will then meet and decide what to recommend for the next fall-winter season, submit its plan to the Conservation Commission for review and approval, and based on that meeting, proceed with the approved plan.
Anyone who wishes to contact the pond committee may do so at BHPCommittee01451@gmail.com.
The dark zone marks the level of the pond at flood stage, not the lower target level, which is not visible. Regardless, the water level and reflection form a perfect fish! (Courtesy photo)
To learn more, see “Pond water level, drawdowns, rainfall concerns surface at Conservation Commission meeting,” published in the July 3, 2026, issue of the Harvard Press.
The committee meetings referenced in this story are available for viewing at theharvardmediacooperative.com/hmc-conservation-commission.