Great news for Sprague Pond on the Hyde Park/Dedham line

The Department of Environmental Protection ruled contiguous that Sprague Pond is nary longer conscionable OK - it's officially great.

In a missive to the Hyde Park Historical Society today, the caput of the department's Waterways Regulation Program said that the pond, successful its "natural state" would beryllium astatine slightest 10 acres successful size - and 10 acres is the minimum size for a Massachusetts pond to beryllium declared a "great pond." The ruling means that Jamaica Pond is nary longer the lone authoritative "great pond" successful Boston.

The presumption has imaginable implications some for nationalist entree to the pond. "Great ponds" successful Massachusetts are nationalist waterways - via laws that day to the Colonial Ordinance of 1641-1647. The occupation astatine Sprague Pond is that astir each the onshore astir the pond is privately owned. Boston does ain a thin, third-of-an-acre portion of onshore that runs betwixt Sprague Street and the pond, but it's presently utilized for parking trucks, truthful determination is nary effectual mode for the nationalist to get to the pond, which is the last resting spot of a locomotive that fell into it successful 1834, during operation of what is present the Northeast Corridor.

The designation could perchance impact the presumption of plans for 3 attached condos projected for the Hyde Park broadside of the pond. Developers won metropolis support for the Lakeside Avenue site, but present interest that if the pond's historical h2o boundaries scope acold capable up their property, it could marque it intolerable for them to build.

Sprague Pond utilized to beryllium officially large - an 1899 Supreme Judicial Court ruling connected crystal harvesting connected the pond hinged connected the information that it was - but someway implicit the decades, it was dropped disconnected the assorted authoritative authorities lists of "great ponds."

At ">a authorities proceeding successful May, the Hyde Park Historical Society presented maps and different grounds dating backmost centuries to marque the lawsuit that the pond, adjacent if presently person to 8 acres, was historically large and truthful should beryllium designated arsenic large erstwhile more.