The Harvey Lake Watershed Association depends on volunteers to keep it operating.

Our three main ways of protecting our lake are by:

1. Participation in the Lake Host program;

2. Testing our water quality through the Volunteer Lake Assessment Program (VLAP); and

3. Weed Watchers, who go out in their boats and kayaks once a month in summer and look for signs of invasive species.

Can you help? Click on the CONTACT link above under the MORE tab.

Our thanks to Kate Hastings

Our thanks on behalf of the Harvey Lake Watershed Association to Kate Langley Hastings, the Cyanobacteria HAB Program Manager at the N.H. Department of Environmental Services, who spoke to the members of the Harvey Lake Watershed Association on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.

Kate's PowerPoint presentation slides are attached and may be accessed by clicking this button:

Membership Meeting Sept. 21, 2022

The Harvey Lake Watershed Association cordially invites you to Northwoods Brewing/Johnson’s Restaurant on Route 4 in Northwood for our annual meeting and membership drive, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The watershed association’s goal is to bring our lake community together, talk with friends, meet new ones and expand our membership. Our membership is critical to continue funding our lake host program, educational materials, membership in N.H. Lakes and water quality testing.

Whether you live on the lake or across the road, we all impact the vitality of Harvey Lake and as lake residents, we have a common interest in it.

Our special guest and presenter will be Kate Langley Hastings, the Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Bloom Program Manager for the N.H. Department of Environmental Services. She and the DES staff investigate sightings of blooms around the state, and she determines if a particular lake or body of water should be posted with an advisory.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE AT LEFT FOR
A READABLE IMAGE OF OUR LEAFLET

Harvey Lake Is Currently Under a Cyanobacteria Advisory

You may have noticed: Harvey Lake has been under a cyanobacteria advisory for the third time in the past three years. This year, we have been seeing small blooms since the beginning of summer, but they have been dissipating by noon in many instances or not being found in large concentrations.

Not so with this latest bloom that occurred on Aug. 19th. The state DES has specific parameters that trigger an advisory (those red signs you see on the boat ramp shorefront). The bloom must contain at least 70,000 cells per milliliter. The latest bloom was at about 130,000 cells per milliliter.

Your association directors:

The Harvey Lake Watershed Association at their annual meeting Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, elected officers and directors for the coming two years.

President: Jamie Walker
Vice President: David Kerkhoff
Secretary: VACANT
Treasurer: Heatha Normandin
Lake Host Coordinator: Kim Mitzel
Weed Watcher Captain: Scott Drolet
Water Quality Coordinator: Jennifer Boulanger
Immediate Past President: Bob Charest

Please click on the icon at right for a 23-page
report on Harvey Lake's Beach and Boat ramp,
including a discussion of what we can do as
an association to improve the area.

A dedication to our founder

Minutes of previous meetings

Please click on this photo

to see how a major rain

event affects the

beach/boat ramp.

Some scenes from past years:

Click on the photo below to watch a clip of Harvey Lake in Northwood, New Hampshire on the Fourth of July, 2017.

LABOR DAY, 2015: This photograph signals the passing of another season. The American flag has been removed from the boulder that sits in Harvey Lake. (The red and white pole in the background is the marine marker.) The flag is a landmark for people passing by on Route 4 in Northwood. If you look closely, you can see the hole that was drilled in the boulder years ago to hold the flagpole. The flag usually flies in our lake Memorial Day to Labor Day each year.

Sunday

morning

on Harvey Lake

NICE DAY FOR EVERYONE: The ducks enjoyed the lake on Thursday, July 10, 2014. A few humans did, too.

WELCOME TO SUMMER 2014: Seen on the lake on Sunday, July 6, a sailor passes people in an inflatable boat.

Sept. 29, 2013: Another season comes to an end

Now there's something you don't see everyday ... Out on Harvey Lake on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013, this paddleboard enthusiast brought his dog along. They went around a good part of the lake, and the dog seemed pretty content being there.

Testing, testing, testing ....

That's Karen Smith, our longtime water quality coordinator, testing the water at the inlet to Harvey Lake, on Aug. 4, 2013. Karen served the lake for many years in many capacities until she moved to Vermont. We continue to test the water three times each summer, as part of the state's Volunteer Lake Assessment Program (VLAP). The water is tested at the inlet on Harmony Road, the outlet at the dam, located just off Harvey Lake Road, and at the deep spot of the lake, which is located just off the south of the peninsula in the center of the lake. We are checking several conditions, including phosphorous levels and water clarity.

Memorial Day, 2013

Scenes from a morning on the lake, Monday, Memorial Day, May 27, 2013. At right, a turtle basks in the sun behind Northwood Congregational Church; below left, fishermen try their luck in the area near the flag (which is once again flying proudly on our lake); and below right, a mother duck and her four ducklings (I'm told that this family began as 13 ducklings - It's not easy raising a family on the lake.)

What a difference a few weeks make ... This was Harvey Lake in Northwood, New Hampshire, on April 5, 2013.

The photo at left was taken Sunday morning on April 28, 2013. Ice-out usually comes for our lake the first or second week of April.

PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE

We don't like the stuff!

We've noticed an abundance of purple loosestrife around the lake this year. It has been growing in abundance at the rocky inlet off Harmony Road for years, and now it seems to have gone on the march around the lake.

It is considered an invasive species, and the best way to get rid of it is to pull it out by the roots and deposit it in a garbage bag and take it to the dump. The best time to get rid of it is July and August, and even though it's pretty, it's considered a menace. Please click on this link to read the state's fact sheet on purple loosestrife.

The plant at right was photographed on the banks of Harvey Lake directly behind Coe-Brown Academy.

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The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) has REMOVED the cyanobacteria advisory for Harvey Lake. The advisory went into effect on August 19, 2022, and was removed on October 11, 2022. While the bloom accumulation has dissipated, NHDES advises that lake-goers look out for green surface accumulations in the future.

This advisory was not based on a toxin evaluation and was intended as a precautionary measure for short term exposure. Cyanobacteria are natural components of water bodies worldwide, though blooms and surface scums may form when excess nutrients are available to the water. Some cyanobacteria produce toxins that are stored within the cells and released upon cell death. Toxins can cause both acute and chronic health effects that range in severity. Acute health effects include irritation of skin and mucous membranes, tingling, numbness, nausea, vomiting, seizures and diarrhea. Chronic effects may include liver and central nervous system damage. Be cautious of lake water that has a surface scum,

changes colors, or appears to have green streaks or blue-green flecks aggregating along the shore.

State Removes Cyanobacteria Advisory for Harvey Lake