Wayland water committee approves $9,900 for Heard Pond hand-pulling

WAYLAND — February 11, 2025 — Wayland's Surface Water Quality Committee unanimously approved $9,900 for hand-pulling water chestnuts at Heard Pond this summer. Chair Thomas Klem said a state Massachusetts Endangered Species Act review needed to authorize herbicide treatment with Clearcast was delayed a month after contractor Solitude Lake Management failed to upload the filing, and now faces a fresh hurdle because one of three parcels in NOI 322-1040 was never reviewed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. "Therefore, we lost a month of just nothing going on," Klem said. Thomas J. Largy said he reached federal biologist Stephanie Koch, who indicated Heard Pond is a state-owned great pond outside federal jurisdiction. Member Carole Plumb said the Select Board is seeking roughly $250,000 at April town meeting for PFAS-related remediation at 195 Main St., where cleanup must be completed before November 2026.