PEABODY - A $400,000 appropriation aimed at rehabilitating Crystal Lake is on its way to Peabody following the Senate's override Tuesday of Gov. Mitt Romney's veto. The House had previously overridden the veto.

"It's done," said Alex Grimes, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody. He added that the money will now be distributed to the city by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. Crystal Lake's importance as a source of fresh water for the Ipswich River - vital to the North Shore's water supply - was stressed in achieving the override.

The money represents the culmination of a long battle to save the lake, located off Lowell Street in West Peabody. While sheltered among picturesque, tree-lined streets, it is clogged with unsightly weeds, algae, water lilies and silt.

State Rep. Joyce Spiliotis, D-Peabody, who was instrumental in adding the funding to the budget, noted that Crystal Lake and nearby Elginwood Pond were issues when she was first elected to the City Council more than a decade ago. Several plans have been proposed to save the waterways, but lack of funding thwarted each of them.

"What better way to preserve open spaces?" she asked. "I'm really happy."

But Romney's office believes there was a much better way to accomplish the goal.

"No one is doubting that the rehabilitation of Crystal Lake is a good idea or a worthwhile objective. But the governor would have preferred to fund such a project in a more financially responsible way," said Romney spokesman Felix Browne.

Browne pointed out that the governor's budget boosts local aid by 8.5 percent, so some of Peabody's extra money could have been used for Crystal Lake, rather than "raiding the reserve savings accounts we'll need in the next economic downturn."

The waterway, once deep enough for swimming, will be rescued under a plan that calls for the introduction of microbes that are expected to eat away all of the organic matter clogging the water. The process is expected to take about two years. First, the microbes will be tested for their effectiveness on a small section of the pond.

The microbes are a far less expensive treatment than the dredging previously contemplated for the lake. On the other hand, they will not remove the silt.

"It's something new," City Councilor Fred Murtagh said. "But I have to concede there are more modern ways to do things." Crystal Lake, he said, "is a resource we ought to maintain."

State Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers, who represents part of West Peabody, also supported the appropriation. The Crystal Lake subcommittee, including City Councilors Mike Zellen and Dave Gamache, adopted the plan to use microbes to clean out unwanted growth.