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It’s official. Fall arrived with the Autumnal Solstice last weekend, and before we know it, we’ll be turning the clocks back. Granted, we’ve had some September days with deep blue sky and fluffy white clouds lazily floating by, but the solstice marked a notable change, as it was the date when there were an equal number of hours of both daylight and darkness.

We watch our resident chipmunk scurry around, storing food for the winter ahead, and see that some of the peanuts we’ve left in an abalone shell on our patio are disappearing daily. Remnants of the shells are scattered about. There are fewer crickets chirping their last symphony at sunset each day … all part of nature’s cycle.

This week, I thought I might write about some of the questions people often ask. There must be others who also wonder about some of the same things. I’ll begin with algae.

Algae are simple plants that are present in most water in its natural state. When growing in sunlight, the algae supply oxygen to the water. In heavily fertilized water, they become overly abundant and then die and decay. During this process, the oxygen that is normally dissolved in the water is used up, or at least greatly diminished. Unpleasant odors are then present with heavy algae growth as this decomposition continues.

Due to the lack of or very little oxygen, there is often fish kill, and other aquatic life is negatively impacted as well. A very abundant amount of algae can be toxic to humans and animals, even deadly. It is referred to commonly as algal bloom or blue-green algae. This can often be seen in swamps and shallow, stagnant water. Nitrogen, phosphorus and other organic materials, such as decaying plants, can cause excessive algae growth, as can lawn fertilizer and failing septic systems.

Dissolved oxygen is vital to desirable forms of aquatic life and fish and to aid in the decomposing organic pollutants in an odor-free process. If there is not a high enough level of oxygen in the water, unpleasant odors will result, along with the fish kill and demise of other aquatic life.

Coliform bacteria? Common to warm-blooded animals, coliforms are usually present in the intestinal tract. However, some forms can live and reproduce outside the intestinal tract. When any is found in water, indications are that fecal matter and disease germs may also be present. The higher the coliform count, the greater the danger in drinking or swimming in the water. This is why the board of health regularly tests our pond water and closes the beaches down if the count is too high.

Dog-waste stations are being installed around town to dispense plastic bags for dog walkers to pick up their dogs’ waste. Unfortunately there is no way to control waterfowl and wild animals from adding to the water pollution in ponds and streams, but not feeding them will help reduce it some. Canada geese are probably the worst offenders of the wild variety.

Several diseases caused by drinking polluted water include typhoid, dysentery, cholera, diarrhea, hepatitis, leptospirosis, amebiasis and paratyphoid. We have a water treatment plant for our drinking water here in Pembroke, and tours are available by contacting our water commissioners through the department of public works at town hall. Our commissioners are Kevin Crowley, Henry Daggett and Jim Kilcommons. Many people in Third World countries that have no water treatment plants suffer multiple diseases, and many die because of their polluted water.

Our ponds and other waterways provide wonderful places to explore. Microscopic plants and animals provide food for insects, and insects provide food for fish and frogs. They, in turn, feed the gulls, hawks, heron, raccoons and snakes, thus moving through the food chain. Fish provide recreation for humans, who often fish for the sport of it and throw them back, but the fish also provide food for humans, other small animals, and in some places, bears. The dissolved oxygen in Furnace Pond is low, thus contributing to an unhealthy pond that needs to be rehabilitated for continued support of the fish and other wildlife to be a continual source of beauty and recreation and a backup source of drinking water.

I have recently heard talk about the concern some people have that if the Pembroke Watershed Association cleans up the ponds, that maybe they will become reservoirs for drinking water purposes only, and therefore no more recreational activities will be allowed. That is not in the picture, folks. Granted, one of the reasons Furnace Pond is so important to save is a drinking water issue — currently with the City of Brockton as a backup source, and there is a draw-down and diversion from Furnace Pond to Silver Lake to Brockton certain times of the year — and Oldham and Furnace could be future drinking water resources for Pembroke. However, there are other reasons to save Furnace Pond.

Furnace Pond is one of the town’s recreational ponds, offering fishing, boating, and water skiing. The Finnish Camp still uses it for swimming purposes. When we have a stretch of freezing temperatures, the pond provides a place to ice skate, play hockey, ice fish, snowmobile and have a traditional bonfire to toss old Christmas trees into. The aesthetic beauty is of value, and the real estate taxes from waterfront property bring in revenue to the town that would decrease if the pond became a swamp, which it is heading toward rapidly.

Let us not forget the role Furnace Pond plays in our historic Herring Run, one of the town’s greatest sources of pride and enjoyment. People drive to Pembroke just to visit the Herring Run, and each spring it’s a place of great interest to townspeople who watch for the spring arrival of the herring making their way in from the Atlantic Ocean, down the North River, through Herring Brook to the Herring Run and on up to Furnace Pond to spawn. Many others continue through the culvert under Route 14/Mattakeesett Street into Oldham Pond and spawn there for the summer. At the end of summer, the ones that survive make their way back through the same route and out to the Atlantic.

What would we do without the duck races at the traditional Good Old Fashioned Fish Fry sponsored by the historical society? It’s a Pembroke rite of spring at the Herring Run.

More on other ponds and questions people ask about next time, from across the pond and beyond.

Dottie MacInnes is a founding member of the Pembroke Watershed Association, a grassroots organization concerned with the health of Pembroke's ponds. She can be reached at dottiemac7@verizon.net.