Wayland water committee will seek CPC money for Heard Pond herbicide

WAYLAND -- October 21, 2025, Wayland Surface Water Quality Committee will pursue CPC funds for Heard Pond herbicide despite open-space rejection. The committee voted unanimously Oct. 21 to authorize Chair Thomas Klem to submit a Community Preservation Committee application by the Nov. 13 deadline for ClearCast treatment on Heard Pond, after CPC's Susan Weinstein advised that water bodies do not qualify as open space. Member Thomas J. Largy argued the guidance "could be interpreted more broadly" through CPC's recreation category, citing prior town funding for pond circulators. The committee also unanimously approved two Solitude Lake Management invoices, $2,400 for two days of hand-pulling water chestnuts and $300 for ClearCast permitting, and is still awaiting Solitude's post-treatment report from Jeff Castellani. Member Carole Plumb said steep banks blocked her attempt to sample algae in the Snake Brook cove of Lake Cochituate.