WINDHAM — Cobbetts Pond has been selected to receive a $100,000 grant to reduce sedimentation and runoff from Fossa Brook near Range Road.

The grant announcement was embraced by the Cobbetts Pond Improvement Association and residents, especially those who live in that area, including Bill Day.

Day has pressed state and federal officials for a decade to stem the flow of sand, runoff and eroded soil into the pond.

"I'm extremely excited," Day said. "I can't wait to see it happen."

Association president John Pallaria said he and fellow association officials Kathleen DiFruscia and Derek Monson are very happy the grant will address what has been a decades old problem.

"That's one of the big sediment entry points — Fossa," Pallaria said.

Andy Chapman of the state Department of Environmental Services Clean Lakes Program said the $100,000, funded by the EPA and distributed by DES, will pinpoint the Fossa Brook areas from which the sedimentation and runoff are coming.

It also will pay for mechanisms to stem the flow of pollutants into the pond. Those solutions might include above- and below-ground collection areas.

The project is expected to take two years and, if all goes well, could start next year, Chapman said.

The EPA money follows an earlier $140,000 grant that mapped paved surfaces in the watershed, logged septic system conditions at homes around the pond, traced the network of pipes that drain into the pond, and tested water quality.

The study identified Fossa Brook as a priority area for cleanup.

But Chapman cautioned the pond cleanup will take at least as long as it did for its rapid decline over the past 20 to 30 years.

"It's not a (electric) switch," Chapman said.

Homeowners will need to do their part as well to correct the sedimentation problems at Fossa Brook.

Those actions could include strategies such as setting rain barrels to collect roof water or directing the flow of water into the ground instead of the pond, Chapman said.

DES can assist homeowners with these home projects. Lots of information is also available online, he said.

There will likely be other priority areas of the pond that need to cleaned, he said.

"This is one of the first pieces," Chapman said.

Since 1985, the watershed population has almost tripled.¬ Interstate 93 intersects the Cobbetts Pond watershed to the northeast and contributes significant impervious surface area with the on- and off-ramps associated with Exit 3.

Those surfaces funnel sedimentation into the pond. The eroded material, in turn, boosts plant growth, which leads to more decaying material on the pond's bottom, increasing bacteria and reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen.

The grant will still need final approval from the EPA and Gov. John Lynch, but Chapman said he expects those to be forthcoming.

Cobbetts was among nine water bodies selected for funding. Nineteen lake associations, municipalities or other organizations applied for the funding.