Wayland water committee approves Dudley Pond survey payment, demands missing reports

WAYLAND — September 30, 2025 — Wayland's Surface Water Quality Committee conditionally approved a $2,490 payment for a Dudley Pond plant survey it has yet to see in writing. The 4-0 vote, with Chair Thomas Klem, Carole Plumb, Thomas J. Largy and Steve Garone in favor, blocks release of the funds to Aquatic Restoration Consultants until written reports for both the spring and fall surveys are delivered. Largy said the missing deliverables "bring into question why we're even a body." The committee also accepted the resignation of longtime member Jack Carr after more than a decade of service tracking Lake Cochituate. Largy reported close to $20,000 spent this year on Herd Pond water chestnut control, with a 50-foot band of U.S. Fish and Wildlife shoreline left untreated. Plumb warned of looming town budget cuts amid a Snake Brook Dam repair project juggling $884,000 in state funds, $5.6 million in ARPA money and a stalled $1.4 million FEMA request.