The Swellesley Report

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Morses Pond in Wellesley closes for season, Summer 2019

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Morses Pond officially closed for the season on Sunday, August 18 after a summer of sun, fun, and swimming.  Days pond was open for the business of fun: 70. Days closed due to high bacteria count: zero. Wellesley Recreation Deputy Director Brandon Fitts said, “Our water has been the cleanest it’s been this summer. If the bacteria count is 235 or higher we have to close the beach. Our water tests have come back from the lab with a count between 5 to 8 every week this summer except one when it was 84. It’s been a great summer for water quality. We’ve had no problems with algae blooms this year, and haven’t had to treat for them in eight or nine years. Water clarity has been incredible all summer, and the water is beautiful.”

Here are some pics of the pond:

Morses Pond, Wellesley
Welcome to Morses Pond. Now that the season has ended, the yellow gate at the end of Turner Road will be closed and locked. At a recent meeting to discuss possible future changes at the pond, there was talk of possibly removing the locked gate to make the area a more accessible four-season recreation spot, officially. Currently people still use the pond and its trails in the off-season, and it’s not illegal to do so. It is, however, inconvenient to park on Turner Road and take the long walk down to the pond area and its trails.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
Morses Pond staffer Michael Ryan at the service road entryway to the pond.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
A young blue heron fishes at Ice House Pond. Back in the 1800s, Wellesley residents purchased ice blocks harvested from the pond and sold on Linden Street in the former Diehl’s complex. The biggest harvest potential at the ice pond now appears to be lily pads and weeds. One idea brought up at the Morses Pond meeting at Town Hall: tear down the fence around the Ice House Pond, remove the invasive species that have gained a foothold there, and add a boardwalk around the pond, with viewing platforms.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
MOPO beach fees generated $159K in revenue last year, and the area has attracted between 18,000 to 28,000 visitors per year in recent years. Wellesley Rec offers kayaks and paddle boards for rent, but takes in most of its revenue from the sale of seasonal and daily beach fees. As of July 18 2019, 2,633 resident MOPO tags were sold and 284 non-residents purchased tags, for a total of 2,917 tags sold.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
Some MOPO staff members. There were about 19 college students on staff this year out of a total of 40 staff members. Some of the schools the students are headed to this fall: Tulane, Bates, Springfield, Holy Cross, UMASS, Bryant, Fairfield, Colby, St. Michaels, Wisconsin, Pomona, and Gettysburg.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
The volleyball net got plenty of action over the summer, according to MOPO staff. Strangest thing to happen at MOPO this summer: “Lightning reportedly struck the point by the beach house and blew up the Comcast router,” Fitts says.

 

Morses Pond
One of the daily duties of MOPO staff is to keep the picnic pavilion raked and tidy.

 

Morses Pond
Morses Pond playground.

 

Morses Pond
Picture taken from the east end of the beach, looking west. Fitts says things were generally quiet at the pond. “There were approximately seven 9-1-1 calls made from the pond. Thankfully all of our emergencies have been false alarms, and any missing person was found very quickly on land. We did have one after-hours emergency early on in the summer involving someone on a skateboard near our parking lot. Our Park Rangers responded with professionalism.”

 

Tots Land, MOPO. Some of the activities offered at the pond this year for kids of all ages were Dad’s day, Council On Aging Day, The MOPO Miler (21 swimmers participated), a staff BBQ, and the Beach Tales with the Library.

 

Morses Pond, Wellesley
At the MOPO meeting at Town Hall, there was discussion about potentially tearing down the old bathhouse, above, and relocating it to the east end of the beach. The bathhouse is currently oriented toward the kayaks part of the pond because when it was built, that’s where the swimming area was located. Renovating the bathhouse is also under consideration.

 

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