by Nancy Hartshorne ·
Friday, August 21, 2026
Thank you to the Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee for providing thorough and detailed information on our pond’s management at their recent August Zoom meeting. This committee and its 25 years of data, along with Aquatic Restoration Consultancy, the Conservation Commission, and the DEP are all critical partners in deciding the depth of our annual drawdowns.
While the reams of data and this year’s ongoing monitoring of the pond both attest to the positive outcomes of deep drawdowns, perhaps my personal experiences offer a better lens to view its success. This is my family’s fourth full summer here in Harvard. The water quality was cringeworthy during our first few summers when we only swam from a canoe in deep water. Closer to shore, the weeds were abundant, even at the town beach. During this time, only one deep drawdown occurred in fall 2021, and then mechanical and operation issues limited the drawdowns in fall 2022 and 2023 to 2.5-3.5 feet.
After two back-to-back deep drawdowns and one weed suctioning at the beach area, fast forward to this summer and the clean, clear, odor-free water at Bare Hill Pond. Swimming from the beach to deep water is enjoyable with minimal weeds throughout the roped areas. The shallow water at Barba’s Point is also clean and odor-free although truly bathtub temperature. Importantly, our town pond remains free from algal blooms despite plenty of sunshine and hot temperatures.
Furthermore, the deep drawdowns are made at minimal expense to taxpayers and avoid unintended future harm. Using herbicides is expensive. It also introduces chemicals that, although currently deemed safe, may be discovered years later to cause harm to human health and water supplies. The PFAS class of chemicals are infamous examples of this.
Personally, I now understand what a treasure Bare Hill Pond is and how lucky the entire community is to have access to this incredible resource. I feel fortunate to have the pond committee and the Conservation Commission as its thoughtful and hard-working stewards.
Nancy Hartshorne
Prospect Hill Road