Powers Lake, East Lyme

Powers Lake is a 144-acre body of water popular among fishermen in East Lyme. The deepest point in the lake is only 14 meters (45 feet), and the shoreline drops off quickly. This limits the littoral zone to the edges of the lake and three shallow coves. The shoreline is undeveloped except for a Yale University School of Engineering laboratory on the southeastern shore. Yale University owns most of the land surrounding the lake.

  Our June 2007 survey found twenty-one species of aquatic plants. Of these, only variable-leaf watermilfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum) and fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana) were invasive. They occurred in small randomly spaced patches along the perimeter of the lake usually with a mixture of native species. Invasive variable-leaf watermilfoil forms a dense patch across the entire width of the northeast cove.   

Other prevalent plants were the bladderworts: purple bladderwort (Utricularia purpurea), floating bladderwort (Utricularia radiata), humped bladderwort (Utricularia gibba), and common bladderwort (Utricularia macrorhiza). Together, they formed almost continuous coverage around the perimeter of the lake and often extended further into deeper water. Slender naiad (Najas flexilis) was found frequently on transects in deeper water indicating that this species is more prevalent than the map created from the visual survey would indicate. White water lily (Nymphaea odorata), yellow water lily (Nuphar variegata), and watershield (Brasenia schreberi) were prevalent in patches along the shoreline except for the long southeastern rocky stretch.