Uncontrolled public access to the Highway Pond gravel pit, coupled with an attractive incentive to frequent the pit (in the form of a stocked trout fishery), has led to numerous cases of refuse disposal in the pit, including dumping around the water.

This photo shows one of three documented examples of lead-acid storage batteries (foreground) found in the gravel pit. Other occurrences include patches of oil dumped on the gravel near the water, trash, hazardous chemical drums, scrap metal, discarded tires animal feces, fishermen relieving themselves other than where portable toilets are located, portable toilets dumped into the water, and lax environmental controls on excavation subcontractors operating in the pit in the past.