Pittsfield Energy Saving Trees Program

10:55AM / Monday, April 06, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As part of the City of Pittsfield's annual Arbor Day celebration, the city has partnered with Eversource for a community tree planting program.

Eversource is donating over 1,000 three- and five-foot-tall trees to local communities through its Energy Saving Trees Program with the Arbor Day Foundation, a larger environmental initiative across its three-state service territory. Approximately 200 trees will be available for Pittsfield residents.

To participate, Pittsfield homeowners can visit https://get.arborday.org/eversource to select and reserve a free tree while supplies last. An interactive tool is available in the portal to determine the best location to plant the tree or shrub for energy savings.

While in the portal, residents will be provided an opportunity to review the trees available and select the tree that is best suited for the location to provide the maximum benefits. If you are a renter, Eversource asks that you contact your landlord for this request.

Trees will be provided during the distribution day on May 1, between noon and 7:00p.m., in the upper parking lot of the Springside House, located at 874 North Street. To receive a tree, an application must be completed online through the application portal prior to the event.

Pittsfield does not allow trees to be planted in the city's right of way without permission. If you are seeking permission to plant a tree in the right of way or have questions about where the right of way boundaries are, please email dpw@cityofpittsfield.org.

In addition, the City of Pittsfield will not be planting or maintaining any trees on a resident's property that are a part of this program.

The city's Arbor Day Ceremony will be held at 12:30p.m. on May 1 at Taconic High School in partnership with their CTE Environmental Science and Horticulture programs. A tree will be planted outside near the front of the school. Light refreshments will be provided by Taconic's Culinary Arts program after the ceremony.

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Pittsfield Man Creates Device to Clear Lakes of Algae Blooms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
08:07AM / Sunday, October 11, 2026

Marc Bellora holds a jar of lake water, left, to compare to water cleaned by his Aqua Clarifier Water System.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Marc Bellora has high hopes for a device he's created to treat lakes from harmful algae blooms.

His patented water clarifier can physically remove captured material rather than letting the nutrient-rich material settle back into the lake, which occurs when herbicides are used.

"It's a long-term lake management tool that can be used to reduce legacy nutrients in lakes and ponds over time," he explained. "We built the prototype, this is a prototype. It does approximately 65 to 70 gallons per minute. It's very environmentally friendly. Can be used with air only, or we can use a low-dose potable polyaluminum chloride (PACL) or chemical on board that can help improve results."

The water clarifier barge is based on well-proven technology for water treatment, he said. "It's a self-contained, portable, mobile unit that removes algae blooms, nitrogen, phosphorus, and the associated nitrogen and phosphorus within lakes."

Bellora founded Clear Waterways Group with business partner Mark Simon. They built a prototype mobile unit and are still working out the kinks. It's taken Bellora about five years to bring the project to fruition as he is also a full-time Realtor.

He says the repurposed barge they use has a device that uses air to filter the water to separate harmful bacteria or uses a chemical at low doses. They are testing both to see how well each does at cleaning the water.

"They would do the same thing here, except they would spray it, and it blocks all that stuff together," Bellora said of the use of herbicides. "But then it drops to the bottom. So now all the nutrients that are attached in that plot go to the bottom and contribute to the legacy nutrients only to fuel next year's bloom. Ours removes it."

He said just using air alone has removed 70 to 90 percent of harmful algae where he has been operating on the south end of Pontoosuc Lake.

"Essentially, we take in the bad stuff, we take in the lake water. We separate the good stuff from the bad stuff. Clean water goes back into the lake, and the bad stuff can either be composted, or it can be taken to the wastewater treatment plant, which is what we're doing here," he said.

Bellora explained that tiny air bubbles attach to particles in the water, making them buoyant so they rise and can be removed. The unit can operate with air alone, or with a low dose of potable polyaluminum chloride.

PACL helps through flocculation: it gathers small particles into larger clumps that are easier for air bubbles to capture. He said this can help remove dissolved nutrients that air alone may not capture as effectively.

Bellora said he was inspired to build something like this after noticing the lakes he enjoys being shut down because of algae blooms.

The city issued a health advisory for Pontoosuc in August, warning residents not to swim or come in contact with the lake water because of an algae bloom. The cyanobacteria can cause skin irritations, vomiting and diarrhea and nerve or liver problems.

Bellora previously worked for a company that used traditional dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems to treat water. In that role, he traveled around the country to work at paper mills and food-processing plants.

That experience gave him a practical understanding of DAF, and while flying between jobs, he would see green ponds and wonder whether the technology could be adapted to treat lakes.

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