Selectmen Approve $58,000 Plan to Study Lake Beseck

Middlefield selectmen on Tuesday approved a $58,000 plan to study the water quality at Lake Beseck.

The watershed management study proposed by the engineering firm Milone & MacBroom Inc. of Cheshire is required by the state in order for the town to move forward with preliminary plans to dredge areas of the lake in an effort to improve water quality.

"When this report is finished we will be at the point where we will be able to present enough information to try to get some grants or other financing for dredging," said selectman Edward Bailey.

Bailey, who serves as the board's liason with the Lake Beseck Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, said the study will be extensive and would ultimately satisfy the state's requirements needed to dredge the lake.

Costs of the study include the creation of up-to-date maping of Lake Beseck (appx. 116 acres) and the lake's watershed (appx. 1,311 acres), a survey of stormwater structures and the study and analysis of water and sediment samples.

In addition to the watershed study, Middlefield has contracted with New England Environmental Inc. to study the lake. The study cost between $10,000-$11,000, according to first selectman Jon Brayshaw.

Last spring, the town's finance board approved $50,000 for a stormwater study and set aside an additional $30,000 for dredging plans. 

Officials are looking to complete the dredging during the anticipated draw down of the lake while the state repairs the Lake Beseck dam.