Due to heavy rains last year, much of the shoreline of Walden Pond in Concord will remain underwater until at least fall, according to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
In a video shared online by DCR, Visitor Services Supervisor Kyle Griffith said 60 inches of rain fell on Walden Pond last year, but the area typically sees 50 inches of rain.
“Over the winter, the water infiltrated the pond to its lowest point, and by April the beach was almost gone,” Griffith said. “Because of last year’s rains, Walden Pond’s beach will be almost nonexistent this summer.”
Griffiths said Walden is a pond that was carved out by retreating glaciers during the last ice age, meaning it has no outlet to any other body of water and is the lowest point in the area.
“No, seriously, this is going to be the only beach we have this summer,” said Ryan Hatton, digital strategist at DCR. “The only way the water is going to go away is through evaporation, and that takes time.”
DCR video showed a bench near the pond completely submerged underwater.
DCR invites visitors to explore Other State Parks and Beaches This summer, DCR came to the pond to replace Walden Pond. But even though the pond has no shoreline, visitors trample plants and habitats while looking for a place to sit. That’s destroying the pond’s ecosystem, Griffith said. Hutton said people also cut down fences that DCR put up to protect the water’s edge.
“We are thrilled to be working with Walden Woods Project to bring this project to fruition,” said Kathy Anderson, executive director of the Walden Woods Project. The Boston Globe The same problem occurred in 2010, when unusually high water levels caused the pond to be closed to the public for several weeks that summer.
Anderson told the outlet he fears the problem will continue, as experts predict heavy rains will become more frequent due to climate change.
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