If you took a walk around Verona Park Lake today, you saw a much different body of water. Essex County deliberately opened a valve under the damn near Bloomfield Avenue yesterday to lower the level of the lake ahead of Hurricane Sandy. The photo above is of an island in the southern part of the lake that is nowhere to be seen when the lake level is normal.
Though the lake bed (below) didn’t look very appetizing to humans, the geese and ducks were having a field day diving for treats.
The county also lowered the level of Diamond Mill Pond in South Mountain Reservation. The lower level of Verona Park Lake will hopefully keep the flooding in backyards bordering the Peckman River to a minimum.
