A shock dose of a chemical used to kill weeds and algae in ponds is a last ditch attempt to clean up the Modeller’s Pond in Tahunanui before a $1million upgrade begins next year.
The pond has suffered from algae for years and the council has tried many times to fix it by using various products and even draining the pond completely in the hope the algae would be gone when it was refilled.
Nelson City Council currently has $495,000 in its budget to fix the pond but it is hoping a shock dose of the chemical Aquathol K, followed by monthly doses with Aqua Boost, an organic product commonly used in swimming pools, will fix the problem. If so it will come at a significantly cheaper cost to ratepayers, with the monthly cost around $200.
Nelson mayor Aldo Miccio says the council is hopeful it will work but if it doesn’t it’s likely the entire pond will be drained and the bottom of it concreted, at a cost of around $1million. “The solution we know will work is to concrete the base of the pond and then just treat it with chlorine. The council tried to find other remedies in the past that have had limited success and now before we go down the concrete pathway, we’re giving this new chemical one last trial to see if it works, if it does it will save ratepayers money.”
The concrete plan isn’t set in stone though, it will have to go through the annual plan process next year if the latest plan is unsuccessful. “If we were to concrete it, it wouldn’t happen until next year at the earliest anyway. So we’ll try this, we’re hopeful this does the trick, if it does, very good. If it doesn’t we’ll have to have allocations in the annual plan to get it concreted next winter,” says Aldo.
If the concrete is needed, Aldo says it is a significant amount of money but he says the pond is worth it as it’s a valuable community asset so it needs to be looked after.
Aquathol K was put in the pond late last month and is a non-carcinogenic weed killer and has no effect on fish, according to its distributor. NCC staff will report back on its success, or not, in December.
My family and I went for a walk here last week and I thought it was just absolutely discusting. I wondered who was responsible for it! It’s nice to know it is being spoken about. What is the 1 million upgrade all about? The money proposed seems alot. Why are volunteers not asked to help along the way!? When it comes to the environment and public areas people might want to help and take a bit of pride in their community! The rates here are so steep and the money currently seems to get spent on beautifying and upgrading things that are not real priorities to the majority of people.
Well why did they spend “our” money last time just digging it out??? They would’ve had the money to concrete it by now!! What a crock of crap saying it will cost $1 million to concrete that area. Someone is either full of it or someone is making a killing on getting that job. There is never any fish in the pond anyway……I am more concerned with the birdlife!! There has been numerous requests to clean up the pond. Even an idiot could’ve worked out that concreting it would’ve been the best solution first up. I do not believe that a chemical will work long term. If it does and repeated doses monthly need to be done ongoing then eventually the costs would end up higher than concreting it. The modellers pond is a priority as far as Im concerned. I walk that area weekly and just about gag when walk by and certainly don’t go anywhere near the edge. common council…….Get your act together and get the problem sorted once and for all!!
Turn it into a saltwater paddling pool. Spend the money on a pumping system