Millville Lake Protective Association
Salem, NH
Salem, NH
MLPA News
August Beach Testing Results
August 14, 2020 - On August 12, 2020, water samples from association and public beaches in Salem were collected and submitted for microbiological analysis to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Laboratory in Concord.
The samples were analyzed for bacteria, (E. coli), the indicator organism utilized to determine safe swimming conditions. At a freshwater beach, an advisory is posted if either two samples exceed the state standard of 88 counts or when one sample exceeds 158 counts.
Two samples were collected from each beach in accordance with the NH DES “Standard Operating Procedure for Bacteria Sampling”. The following beach sites were sampled and the results are as follows:
Location: E. coli Results:
August 12
Hedgehog Pond ------------------------------------ 53, 48
Shadow Lake ---------------------------------------- 15, 18
Captain’s Pond
Camp Otter ---------------------------------------- 47, 38
Camp Y-Wood ------------------------------------ 35, 18
Millville Lake -------------------------------------- - 16, 28
Arlington Pond
Arlington Pond Improvement Assoc. ----- 2, 4
Second Street Beach -------------------------- 47, 28
All of the beaches were in compliance. These are the final beach results for this year. The testing program will begin again in June of 2021. Any questions, please feel free to contact the Health Officer at 890-2050.
Note: A visual inspection was conducted of these beaches to determine if Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) were present. No algae blooms were noted at these beaches.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact:
Brian A. Lockard
Health Officer
Town of Salem
33 Geremonty Drive
Salem, NH 03079
603-890-2050
The samples were analyzed for bacteria, (E. coli), the indicator organism utilized to determine safe swimming conditions. At a freshwater beach, an advisory is posted if either two samples exceed the state standard of 88 counts or when one sample exceeds 158 counts.
Two samples were collected from each beach in accordance with the NH DES “Standard Operating Procedure for Bacteria Sampling”. The following beach sites were sampled and the results are as follows:
Location: E. coli Results:
August 12
Hedgehog Pond ------------------------------------ 53, 48
Shadow Lake ---------------------------------------- 15, 18
Captain’s Pond
Camp Otter ---------------------------------------- 47, 38
Camp Y-Wood ------------------------------------ 35, 18
Millville Lake -------------------------------------- - 16, 28
Arlington Pond
Arlington Pond Improvement Assoc. ----- 2, 4
Second Street Beach -------------------------- 47, 28
All of the beaches were in compliance. These are the final beach results for this year. The testing program will begin again in June of 2021. Any questions, please feel free to contact the Health Officer at 890-2050.
Note: A visual inspection was conducted of these beaches to determine if Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) were present. No algae blooms were noted at these beaches.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact:
Brian A. Lockard
Health Officer
Town of Salem
33 Geremonty Drive
Salem, NH 03079
603-890-2050
Purple Loosestrife Seen on Millville Lake
August 10, 2020 - We've noticed some Purple Loosestrife (see sample photos) around the lake and August is the time to remove it before it goes to seed. If you see it on your shoreline please follow these removal instructions from NH DES - "We recommend cutting off the flower stalks, and putting them in a black plastic trash bag. After those are removed the stems/roots can be dug out by hand, and put into the trash bag. Leave the bag out in the sun for a few days to “cook” the plants and render them non-viable. They can be deposited in the trash after that.
The DES Environmental Fact Sheet on Purple Loosestrife can be viewed by clicking here.
The DES Environmental Fact Sheet on Purple Loosestrife can be viewed by clicking here.
NH Lakes August Webinar Series
August 8, 2020 - Our friends at NH Lakes are presenting a new series of webinars in August. Click here for the schedule.
SOLitude Lake Management 2020 Lake Maintenance
August 8, 2020 - SOLitude Lake Management performed lake treatment on Monday August 3rd. More information can be read by clicking here.
LakeFest 2020 Canceled
July 16, 2020 - It is with great disappointment that we have had to cancel this year's LakeFest event on Millville Lake. We hope that everyone understands that the current public health issues are the cause for this cancellation. Thank you for your continued support.
- MLPA Board of Directors
- MLPA Board of Directors
NH Lakes LakeSmart Booklet
July 12, 2020 - NH Lakes provided a must-read booklet filled with helpful information on lake friendly living. Download your copy today.
| lakesmartbooklet_2019.pdf |
New Chaser's Charity Gaming Dates Announced
June 12, 2020 - Chaser's Poker Room is reopening on June 15th and they have announced the revised charity gaming schedule. The MLPA will be the featured charity from Sunday July 5th - Saturday July 11th. 35% of that day's take will go to the MLPA. Tell your friends to come out and support the MLPA!
Cyanobacteria Advisory Lifted
June 10, 2020 - The cyanobacteria presence in Millville Lake has been reduced. Therefore the "no swimming, no wading" advisory HAS BEEN LIFTED. Four different areas were sampled Tuesday, June 9, 2020 and brought to the NH Department of Environmental Services (NH DES) in Concord. All of the samples were well below the advisory level. Last week they were very high. Fortunately, it went away on its own.
For more information on cyanobacteria, click here.
For more information on cyanobacteria, click here.
MLPA Salem High Scholarship Recipients
May 26, 2020 - We are pleased to announce the recipients of the two MLPA sponsored Salem High School scholarships. The well-deserved senior recipients are Salem residents, Emma Liptrap and Philip Breton.
Emma is going to attend Syracuse University where she plans to major in Environmental Civil Engineering. Philip will be attending the University of New Hampshire and plans to major in Civil Engineering/with an interest in environmental issues.
Emma and Philip each received $1000.00 towards their college educations. Congratulations to Emma and Philip and we wish you success in your scholastic endeavors. Also, thank you to the Salem High Scholarship Committee who handled the entire selection process.
The MLPA BOD hopes to award these scholarships on a yearly basis.
Emma is going to attend Syracuse University where she plans to major in Environmental Civil Engineering. Philip will be attending the University of New Hampshire and plans to major in Civil Engineering/with an interest in environmental issues.
Emma and Philip each received $1000.00 towards their college educations. Congratulations to Emma and Philip and we wish you success in your scholastic endeavors. Also, thank you to the Salem High Scholarship Committee who handled the entire selection process.
The MLPA BOD hopes to award these scholarships on a yearly basis.
Clean River Project Lake Cleanup
May 26, 2020 - The MLPA has again contracted with Rocky Morrison's Clean River Project to do a Millville Lake shoreline cleanup. Check out the highlights of their visit here.
Update: Rocky recently returned to the lake to remove a large, floating tree stump with his Bobcat. The stump had washed ashore at the Millville Circle beach area near the dam.
Update: Rocky recently returned to the lake to remove a large, floating tree stump with his Bobcat. The stump had washed ashore at the Millville Circle beach area near the dam.
Lakeside Winter 2020 Edition is Available
Click here to read the Winter 2020 edition of Lakeside from NH Lakes.
MLPA 2020 Dues
We are now accepting MLPA membership dues payments for 2020. The MLPA membership year is from January 1st - December 31st and dues are only $30.00. Click here to support the MLPA. As always, thank you for your support to "protect and improve Millville Lake."
Maintaining a Healthy Lake
With all the “stay at home” time we have been doing, you might have some overdue projects around your yard. There's tons of great information on what you can do in your own yard to make and keep Millville Lake healthy in the "Maintaining a Healthy Lake" section of this website. Most important is keeping phosphorus out of the lake. Phosphorus just feeds the weeds. Also, there’s much you can do to stop sediment erosion from excess storm runoff. Click here, read and learn.
SOLitude Lake Management 2019 Water Quality Testing
March 20, 2020 - SOLitude Lake Management performed Millville Lake water quality testing on August 29, 2019 and September 27, 2019. I received the August water quality results, reviewed them and nothing popped out to me as bad or out of the ordinary. I did not receive the September results until late October (due to a billing mix up), so I did not want to report back to you with only one set of results. When I finally received the September results I reviewed them again and again saw nothing of concern. Our Fisheries Biologist (Ben German) reviewed both sets of results and for the most part he also saw no red flags. He did however feel like it was worth mentioning that the Conductivity was a little higher than he would expect for a water body in this region/geography. Conductivity is a measure of water’s capability to pass electrical flow. This ability is directly related to the concentration of ions in the water. These conductive ions come from dissolved salts and inorganic materials such as alkalis, chlorides, sulfides and carbonate compounds. Compounds that dissolve into ions are also known as electrolytes. The more ions that are present, the higher the conductivity of water. (definition taken from: https://www.fondriest.com/environmental-measurements/parameters/water-quality/conductivity-salinity-tds/.)
Ben's opinion was that the slightly elevated conductivity was possibly due to road salts from the winter. There is no harm at all with the readings seen (330-350 umhos/cm), as they fall well within the acceptable range to support diverse aquatic life (100-1,000 umhos/cm.)
All water quality results looked good, with no reason for concern.
Peter Beisler SOLitude Environmental Scientist
Ben's opinion was that the slightly elevated conductivity was possibly due to road salts from the winter. There is no harm at all with the readings seen (330-350 umhos/cm), as they fall well within the acceptable range to support diverse aquatic life (100-1,000 umhos/cm.)
All water quality results looked good, with no reason for concern.
Peter Beisler SOLitude Environmental Scientist
SOLitude Lake Management 2019 Lake Treatment Final Report
March 16, 2020 - The SOLitude Lake Management 2019 Lake Treatment Final Report can be read here.
MLPA Fall 2019 Meeting Notes Available
October 16, 2019 - The MLPA Fall Meeting Notes for the October 8, 2019 meeting are now available to members by clicking on the 'MLPA Meeting Notes Members Only' photo above.
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