In the first major pond project in over 30 years, officials at the Roger Williams Park in Providence are hoping to improve the water quality of the ponds that comprise much of the charm of the park. The ponds, 7 in all, were man-made from dredging marshes in the early 1900's. Nevertheless, they are part of a watershed, connecting Spectacle and Mashpaug ponds which are 1 mile northeast along the Cranston-Providence border. Their contents eventually empty downstream into the Pawtuxet River and Narragansett Bay.
Contributing to the present day pollution of the Roger Williams Park ponds is storm water run-off containing phosphorous some of which comes from fertilizers and makes the pond ripe for algae growth. In addition, sediment that is carried in the run-off makes the ponds shallower and even more susceptible to plant growth.
Several solutions are being proposed to get run-off water filtered more naturally including removing unsecessary pavement in the park and stopping drainage from the carousel roof. Dredging the ponds could also help. But these alone won't solve all of the pollution problems
.
Another source of pollution of the water in the ponds are the large numbers of Canada Geese who populate the area. These birds are protected from extinction by the National Migratory Bird Act. Their droppings pollute the pond and they eat the grass around the pond which would block run-off from bringing pollutants to the pond. Some solutions to these issues include addling (shaking) their eggs. They then are returned to the nest so the adults don't lay additional eggs and the original eggs don't hatch. This has been successful in other areas. Some would like to see restrictions on people feeding bread to the Canada Geese, but some park goers would not be amenable to that type of restriction as feeding birds at a park is a reverered tradition to many people.
No comments:
Post a Comment