Board of Health Approves Silver Lake Treatment, Orders Mandatory Post-Treatment Water Testing

BELLINGHAM — June 17, 2025 — Bellingham Board of Health allows Silver Lake herbicide treatment after discovering required notifications were never sent. The board voted unanimously at its June 17 meeting to let a June 19 aquatic herbicide application proceed at Silver Lake after member Richard Monelli reported he learned of the treatment only through a Facebook post, with no 45-day advance notice to the board as required under a 1998 state regulation. The board conditioned approval on mandatory water testing by the contractor at five days and 30 days post-treatment, a requirement it also voted to add to its standing regulations. Members additionally voted to require door-to-door notification for lakeside residents and a reverse-911 alert, and to post signs warning the public against eating fish due to elevated mercury and heavy metals listed in the Massachusetts registry of lakes and ponds. The board also voted to pursue two floating fountain installations at Silver Lake through the November capital improvements process as a potential long-term non-chemical alternative.