LYNNFIELD — Resident Owen Blacker, a sophomore pursuing environmental science studies at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, has completed an internship under the guidance of the town’s Planning & Conservation Director Emilie Cademartori.
For his project, Blacker chose to assess the water quality of Pillings Pond. He investigated the impact that storms have from stormwater that drains into the pond from surrounding lands. Cademartori said Blacker’s water analysis will provide important supplemental quality data for Upton-based Water & Wetland, the Conservation Commission’s water-treatment consultant for work at Pillings Pond.
“Owen was extremely concise and self-driven,” said Cademartori. “He approached us and basically said, ‘I live here and want to do something.’ I gave him the big picture of what we are trying to do and he just dove into it … His conclusions may help shape the treatment plan that Water & Wetland will design for next year’s seasonal Pond treatment.”
Blacker chose three strategic outfall locations to conduct water samples. With the help of Water & Wetland, he designed the tests, collected samples after storm events, and oversaw lab testing and reporting through Alpha Analytical. His conclusions will be reviewed by Water & Wetland in its 2021 Pillings Pond treatment report to the Conservation Commission.
“Working with the Lynnfield conservation department was an excellent experience for me,” said Blacker. “I’m glad I was able to further my education of environmental science while working to improve the water quality of a pond in my own hometown.”
Pillings Pond is a 95-acre pond located within the Saugus River Watershed, which receives drainage from approximately 1,200 acres of the predominantly-residential area to its north. From the pond’s outlet along its southern shoreline, water flows to the south to Reedy Meadow, the largest freshwater cattail marsh in Massachusetts.
Over the years, a number of comprehensive studies have been conducted to assess and improve poor water quality that has become degraded by excessive chemical and nutrient loading. Poor water quality impairs the pond’s habitat, along with its recreational and aesthetic values.
Cademartori said she was impressed by Blacker’s methodology and his independence in seeing the project through to completion. She added that she helped him focus on three point sources that are accessible to the public so as not to trespass on private property; this work also allowed him to fit in the two or three jobs he had.
“He designed a regime based on what his routine should be and he had to learn about chain of custody of samples; I left it up to him,” she said. “He provided his take on them, and those results will get incorporated into our professional results. What Owen did was basically doubled the number of our samples, which may or may not help us tackle issues on point-source districts (the places where stormwater is entering the pond).”