Wayland panel votes to pursue federal grant for Dudley Pond nutrient study in 2027

WAYLAND -- June 30, 2026, Wayland's Surface Water Quality Committee voted 3-0 to pursue a federal Section 604B planning grant in 2027 for a feasibility study of nutrient sources on Dudley Pond, acting on the recommendation of Ann, chair of the Healthy Dudley Pond Committee, who reported an unprecedented spring algae bloom on the pond this past April. Chair Thomas Klem said the committee's annual budget has been reduced from $50,000 to $30,000 and is already committed, but roughly $21,000 remains in a Dudley Pond Association gift fund held by the town that could be tapped with Select Board approval. The Healthy Dudley Pond Committee will write the application, with the Surface Water Quality Committee submitting as the required town entity; the 2026 deadline had already passed. On Heard Pond, member Thomas J. Largy urged immediate deployment of hand-harvesting crews and Clearcast herbicide treatment for water chestnuts, warning that a single rosette in late June "could be a daisy chain of rosettes" within weeks; Klem confirmed both contracts are signed and Conservation Commission approval for the herbicide is in place.