Westhampton Lake holds surprising finds

Westhampton Lake has been full of the expected wildlife, such as fish and algae, but also contains many unexpected objects, such as stone benches and even cars.

A checklist of things to do before graduation, published in the Jan. 21 edition of The Collegian, suggested students risk hepatitis and jump in Westhampton Lake. But perhaps undergraduates would like a little more information about what lives - and does not live - in the scenic lake before they take a midnight swim.

In 1998, the University Lake Study Group published a study performed on Westhampton Lake. At that time, the group found high nitrogen and phosphorus levels, but the numbers could be even higher today, said Stephen B. Glass, the horticulturist and landscape manager at the University of Richmond.

"The nitrogen and phosphorus generally come from fertilizers," Glass said. "And there are an awful lot of very well-maintained lawns upstream from us."

More recent studies done by biology professor Maren B. Reiner's environmental studies class showed that phosphorus and nitrate levels were actually at a low average, Reiner said. She said the class had also studied biodiversity.

"Certainly you can see the big animals: the ducks, the turtles, the fish," she said. "But we also look for microscopic biodiversity. The idea behind that is that the different types of organisms tell us if the lake is healthy."

The lake seems to be healthy, Reiner said, but she maintained that she would not swim in or drink from it.

To keep the lake healthy, about five feet of water is drained from it every year around the end of June, Glass said. Between 60 and 100 truckloads of sand and silt are pulled out to prevent the lake from filling up. But when the water was lowered in the past, some surprising discoveries have been made.

"A lot of things get put in the lake that shouldn't be in the lake," Glass said.

During the 1980s a Volkswagen Beetle was reported stolen, Chief of Police Robert C. Dillard said.

"It was a number of months before we found it," Dillard said. "And we only found it when we lowered the level of the lake. Normally they float."

Dillard said two other cars, also Volkswagens, had washed into the lake from College Road during a flood. The cars had been swept under the Tyler Haynes Commons and over the dam.

"One of them got hung up on the bridge going from north to south campus," Dillard said. "And the other one was found up in the trees down the creek that is closer to River Road. That's how high the water was."

The cars were just some of the items found in the lake. Glass, Reiner and Dillard also noted that traffic cones, expensive toy submarines, patio furniture and benches have been found in the lake. Each also speculated that there may be some Green Bikes found in Westhampton Lake when it is drained this summer.

"One thing that has unfortunately ended up in the lake is this spider that was built for [President Ayers' inauguration]," Glass said, referring to the artwork that sat in the Forum before ending up in the lake. "It was thrown into the lake a couple weeks ago. We've gotten it out of the lake, but it's so damaged we won't be putting it back."

But not everything that goes into the lake always comes out, Dillard said.

"We wouldn't walk 20 feet to retrieve a traffic cone," he said. "And I wouldn't go in after those bikes."

Contact reporter Kate MacDonnell at mailto:kate.macdonnell@richmond.edu