LAKE FACTS

Coordinates 42°14′33″N, 72°09′19″W

Lake type  Lake

Surface area  320 acres

Average depth  7 ft

Max-depth  11 ft

Shore length  *  5.2 mi

Surface elevation  594 ft MSL

* Shore length is an imprecise measure which may not be standardized

Lake Wickaboag Dam is of earth construction, a gravity dam. Its length is 130 feet, its capacity is 924 acre feet, normal storage is 849 acre feet. It drains an area of 15.6 square miles.

Lake Wickaboag is located in the town of West Brookfield, Massachusetts. It is an artificial lake covering approximately 320 acres. Maximum depth is 11 ft with a mean depth of 7 ft. The Lake is heavily used for recreation year round. There is a public boat ramp near the center of town and there is parking for boat trailers. The town beach permits swimming with a lifeguard present during the daytime in the summer. There is parking for seven trailers.

Description

Only local drainage feeds the lake and it is very shallow. Because of this, the water is quite warm in the summertime and often brown in color. Drainage from a wetlands area called Wickaboag Valley, which runs from Lake Wickaboag northward to Gilbertville Road, New Braintree, forms Mill Brook and Sucker Brook that feed into the north end of the lake. This lake is part of the Chicopee River Watershed.

History

Originally called Wekabaug Pond, from the Nipmic Indian word meaning wet place or swamp, in 1890, Lake Wickaboag existed as Wickaboag Pond, somewhat smaller than the present lake. In the 1930s, the natural dam was replaced with a new construction, which raised the level of the lake and flooded more of the Wickaboag Valley swamp. The lake drains into the Quaboag River, which passes by to the south.

A 2003 Community Development Plan survey of West Brookfield resulted in identifying Lake 
Wickaboag as one of the two most significant assets of the town. Beginning in 1975 with the 
Lycott Environmental Eutrophic Study of Lake Wickaboag, The Board of Selectmen and Board 
of Health have encouraged management of the lake weed and algae problems. The Board of 
Health has been aggressively enforcing septic Title V requirements around the lake and to 
protect the water bodies of West Brookfield. The town approved a Stormwater by-law in 2006 and an Open Space Residential Development by-law in 2007. The Lake Wickaboag 
Preservation Association was formed in 1990 to: 
“…encourage, organize and support programs and activities that promote, restore and 
maintain the ecological health of Lake Wickaboag through involvement in issues of lake water 
quality and watershed protection and management.”