ARROWSIC — Citing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, Arrowsic Selectmen on Friday closed the Sewall Pond Conservation Area, after the popular swimming and recreation spot saw heavy use for two weekends in a row.
On May 22, the Friday before Memorial Day, monitors reported 39 cars parked along Old Stage Road, the narrow road leading to the pond, many of which had out-of-state license plates. The following weekend, monitors reported 20 cars in one day.
Selectmen Chairwoman Sukey Heard said the pond easily saw 100 visitors on the Friday before Memorial Day. The pond doesn’t have enough shoreline to accommodate that many people while ensuring everyone can safely stay six feet away from one another.
“The geographics of (the pond) are so that it’s impossible for people to social distance,” said Heard. “It’s a major public health concern and that’s what we’re trying to address.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend social distancing, or staying 6 feet away from others and avoiding large gatherings, as the number cases of COVID-19 continue to tick upward. Limiting close contact with others outside one’s household is recommended regardless of whether you’re inside or outside, but the CDC warns not to wear a face mask when swimming because the fabric can be difficult to breathe through when wet.
Physically distancing is recommended because COVID-19 is spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks and droplets from their mouth or nose are launched into the air and land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. Staying 6-feet away from others can decrease the chances of that happening, according to the CDC.
“We don’t want to close it indefinitely, but we need to address the health issue immediately,” said Heard. “We’re trying to figure out how to make it safely accessible, but the only way we can ensure public safety is if we can close it for now.”
The town doesn’t have the ability to close the pond itself because it’s owned by the state, but it closed the 14-acre area of woods around the 46-acre pond, known as the Sewall Pond Conservation Area, through which the pond is accessed. The conservation area was given to the town in 1982 by William and Winifred Holt, a local family who previously owned the land. The Holt family is also responsible for the neighboring Holt Research Forest.
Jack Withem, an associate scientist at the Holt Research Forest, said the closure may help preserve the conservation area and protect the pond from erosion.
“If the area is overused … it can cause additional erosion problems with can be bad for the pond water,” said Withem. “When you get runoff from a rainstorm, it picks up bits of sediments that flow into the pond.”
He said that runoff can contain nutrients that can cause algae blooms in the pond and weaken the stability of the shoreline.
Sheila Spear, Arrowsic’s town administrator, said selectmen will review the decision at their bi-weekly meetings and vote to either open the conservation area or keep it closed.
Spear said the town isn’t able to enforce the closure, but signs have been posted and the Sagadahoc County sheriff will be checking the property regularly.
“We have faith in people’s ability to read signs and respect them,” she said.
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