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What is Monster Water?
The vigorously bubbling water that can be seen at two sites in the south bay of Lake Waramaug, along Route 45, has been described by children as "Monster Water." Which explanation of the phenomenon is the correct one?"Monster Water" is caused by:
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a) The exhaling of a frightening, underwater lake creature, the Pen Dragon, who is a distant cousin of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland.
b) The evidence of two active, natural springs which supply nearly half of the water entering Lake Waramaug.
c) Carbon dioxide escaping from the bow and stern of the steamboat "Flirt", which sank in Lake Waramaug during a storm in 1888.
d) Compressed air released from two vertical, torpedo-shaped devices that manage the thermal layers of the lake to keep nutrients near the bottom, thus reducing algae growth on the surface.
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The Answer is:
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a) Not. "Pen Dragon" was the nom de plume of a local newspaper reporter, Myron Cable, who chronicled life at Lake Waramaug in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There have been few reliable monster sightings at the lake. (See A History of Lake Waramaug* by Mary Harwood, below.)
b) Not. Lake Waramaug is partially fed by springs in other areas of the lake, but they do not account for a large percentage of the water entering it. Half of the incoming water comes from one source: Sucker Brook in Warren.
c) Not. There was a steamboat "Flirt" that served the lake in the 1880s and may have been intentionally sunk in the lake, but there is no evidence of its whereabouts or any residual effect. (See A History of Lake Waramaug* by Mary Harwood, below.)
d) Bingo! The two devices are called Layer Aeration Systems, designed by Dr. Robert Kortmann and installed by the Lake Waramaug Task Force to combat algae growth and improve water clarity. See our Science page for more information on how LWTF works to improve water quality.
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