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Educational
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By becomming a member you help support our efforts to make Lake Wickaboag a better place.
Lakeside Lawn Care Study
reprinted from 2007
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Phosphates, abundant in commercial lawn fertilizers, can leach into the lake and promote the proliferation of weed growth. Two LWPA members
have volunteered to use a non-phosphate fertilizer produced by Lesco. They used one application in June and plan to use a second similar
treatment this month (October). In both cases, they have reported no apparent change in the lawn's appearance despite the absence of
phosphates.
Both members have agreed to continue using this "lake friendly" fertilizer in the spring. Please remember to avoid using winterizer fertilizers near
the lake. Like starter fertilizer, the winterizer has a very high concentration of phosphates.
Last year two of our board members volunteered to continue using a no-phosphate fertilizer produced by LESCO. They used two applications of the
product last year and plan to use a similar treatment plan throughout the spring and summer of this year. In both cases, the board members report
no apparent change in their lawns spring appearance, despite the absence of phosphates for more than one year.
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Lake Wickaboag is located in the town of West Brookfield in central Massachusetts. It is a man made lake covering approximately 320 acres.
Maximum depth is 11 ft with a mean depth of 7 ft. Lake Wickaboag is heavily used for recreation year round. There is a public boat ramp near the
center of town and there is parking for a maximum of 7 boat trailers. A town beach permits swimming with a life guard present during the day in the
summer. The beach is available to West Brookfield residents only.
Is Wickaboag a LAKE or a POND?
Lake - An inland body of usually fresh water, larger than a pool or pond, generally formed by some obstruction in the course of flowing water.
Lake, large, inland body of fresh or salty standing water. Lakes are distinguished from bodies of water such as bays and gulfs, and some seas,
that have an interchange with the ocean and are subject to tides. Lake basins are formed by many geologic processes, such as buckling of
stratified rock into large folds, displacement of large masses of rock by faults (see Fault), and blocking of valleys by landslides. Lakes also form by
glaciation. Glaciers carve out large basins by scooping up bedrock and redistributing loose material. Many of the lakes of North America formed this
way, including the Great Lakes and New York's Finger Lakes. The source of lake water is atmospheric precipitation that reaches the lake directly
and by means of springs, brooks, and rivers. Lakes form and disappear over the course of varying lengths of geologic time (see Chronology). They
may evaporate, as the climate becomes more arid, or they may fill up with sediment, leaving a bog or swamp in their place. In arid regions where
precipitation is slight and evaporation great, lake levels rise and fall with the seasons and sometimes dry up for long periods. In lakes where
evaporation prevents the water from overflowing the basin rims, substances dissolved in the water become concentrated. The dissolved matter,
brought by tributary streams, varies in composition with the nature of the rocks in the local drainage system. The primary mineral constituent of salt
lakes is common salt; bitter lakes contain sulfates; alkali lakes contain carbonates; borax lakes contain borates; and some lakes contain
combinations of these substances.
Lakes form at all altitudes and are distributed throughout the world. Almost one-half of the world's lakes are in Canada. Lakes are abundant in high
latitudes, particularly in mountain regions subjected to glacial action. Many lakes are important commercially as sources of minerals and fish, as
shipping arteries, and as vacation resorts.
The largest lakes in the world include the Caspian Sea, Lake Superior, and Lake Victoria. The Dead Sea is the world's lowest lake, 408 m (1,340 ft)
below sea level. The Caspian, the world's largest lake, covers an area of 370,998 sq km (143,243 sq mi). Lake Baikal is the deepest freshwater
lake in the world, with a maximum depth of 1637 m (5371 ft).
"Lake," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
© 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved.
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