Twin Lake North, Simsbury - 2012

Twin Lake North is a public, man-made lake located in Simsbury, CT. It is 13.4 acres and is quite shallow. The deepest point in the lake is 2 meters. The lake is located in the Nod Brook Management Area, land owned and maintained by the DEEP. The lake is used yearly for field trials for dog hunting. Various field trial competitions are held on the management area's land. The lake has been built for these competitions, using various channels of water to create a course for the field trials.

The CAES IAPP survey of Twin Lake North found 13 species growing in the lake, including two invasive species. The invasive species were Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) and curlyleaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus). Eurasian watermilfoil was the most dominant species found in the lake. It was growing densely throughout the lake except in the center, deeper portions of the lake. Of the two transects consisting of a total of 20 points, only three of the points had no Eurasian watermilfoil. Curlyleaf pondweed was found in small patches in the southwest corner of the lake and also in the thin channels along the eastern side of the lake. Although the survey did not find curlyleaf pondweed to be a dominant the plant usually grows in the early spring and then dies back in the summer. Thus, in the early spring the plant potentially could cause more problems.

The second most common plant is a native called coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum). This plant was found closer to shore in thick bands around the majority of the lake. Of the 20 transect points, coontail were found on 10 points. The remainder of the species were found growing near the shore. Various shoreline species seem to be crowding the shoreline. The native, pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), was found growing in long patches that would make accessing the shoreline impossible. The shallow, thin channels seemed especially prone to shoreline crowding of plant species.

Other Twin Lake North Surveys: 2018, 2013