Batterson Park Pond, Farmington - 2004

2004 Aquatic Plant Survey Map of Batterson Park Pond

Transect Data | Water Data

            Batterson Park Pond is located in Farmington and New Britain although it is owned by the City of Hartford.  The eastern side of the pond is residentially developed behind an old railroad bed and a patchy tree buffer.  A state-leased boat launch is located at the south end of the pond; gas motors are prohibited. The 140-acre Batterson Park Pond supports abundant populations of nine aquatic plant species, including three invasives.

            During our August 2004 survey, the most abundant invasive was Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), which occurred primarily on the eastern side and southern end of the pond, although smaller patches were recorded on the western side and northern end of the pond. The species was found in water up to 9 feet deep in the pond, which has a maximum depth of 20 feet and mean depth of 14 feet.

            Variable pondweed (Potamogeton gramineus), leafy pondweed (Potamogeton foliosus) and the non-native minor naiad (Najas minor) occurred with Eurasian watermilfoil at the pond’s southern end.  Eurasian watermilfoil occurred with minor naiad on the western side of the pond. The annual naiad species occurred alone in shallow water in some areas, as did western waterweed (Elodea nuttallii).

            A patch of a non-native fern, European waterclover (Marsilea quadrifolia), was found along the shore in the northwest part of the pond, south of a beach used by a summer camp. Even larger patches of the invasive species were recorded in small coves farther south along the pond’s western shore, and the fern was especially abundant in a cove at the southwest corner of the pond, where a stream enters. No trace of the plant was found anywhere up the stream, although a number of pools of quiet water were found, where European waterclover presumably could have grown and been washed downstream into Batterson Park Pond.

            Variable pondweed also occurred along the western side of the pond, in water no more than 3 feet deep. Patches of Sago pondweed (Stuckenia pectinata), leafy pondweed and coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum) also were recorded. Vegetation in the northern end of the pond was sparse, although variable pondweed was found in water as much as 9 feet deep, and patches of Eurasian watermilfoil, minor naiad, Sago pondweed, and leafy pondweed were found.