Pollution

Cootes Area

Carp in the Dump

I recently had an opportunity to visit a marsh just outside Hamilton called Cootes Paradise. It is a very pretty recreational area that became badly polluted during the industrial era when tons of sewage and waste water were dumped with no regard for the consequences for many years. This led to the marsh and the adjacent harbor becoming one of the worst polluted spots in North America. The marsh itself became stagnant with algae blooming in abundance, much like our own lake in Century Village.

In the sixties, it suddenly became a priority to clean it up as the people of the area became aware of the environmental implications of severe pollution.

The city fathers and the provincial government first tried aerating the water with a system of pipes pumping air into the water. A huge project was completed where the waste water was collected then treated before being dumped into the harbor. A multi-million dollar upgrading of the treatment plant was completed and hopes were high that the water would recover.

At first it seemed that there was a bit of improvement. but the marsh was devastated and most of the native plants and animals were gone. replaced by a species of carp that destroyed the vegetation and polluted the water even more with massive amounts of fecal matter they deposited.

A decision was made to somehow rid the marsh of carp by installing a trap at the entrance that would catch anything that tried to enter through the canal that joined the harbor and the marsh. The carp migrated out of the shallow water in the fall before freeze up and would return in the spring. It was imperative to get rid of the carp as they quickly ate the plants that were reintroduced in an attempt to restore the natural fauna that had disappeared.

The first year of operation the trap caught thousands of carp which were dispatched to a local dump in truckloads. Subsequent years saw many more thousands of carp caught and dispatched. Plants that had been carefully cultivated and placed in the marsh now had a chance to survive without the activities of the carp to disrupt their progress. Native fish species like pike, trout , and bass regained a foothold , in the past they had been demolished by the carp which greedily ate their eggs and spread disease through their droppings. Not only that, the carp constantly rooted up the bottom of the marsh causing the water to become turbid and cloudy preventing sunlight from reaching the bottom and killing any plants or animals that tried to grow there. A researcher commented that the floor of the marsh looked like the surface of the moon. barren and cratered due to carp rooting for food. The carp did eat some of the algae but preferred succulent green plants and tiny organisms they found by rooting up the bottom much like a pig would do.

The remediation program has showed some success, though the water has not fully recovered it is becoming more clear and hopes are that in time it will eventually revert to a pristine condition. Some experts predict it could take up to a hundred years to accomplish.

Having been witness to all this and involved in the effort to a small degree. I have to wonder why WPRF would consider stocking CV Lake with carp.

To be sure something has to be done, but stocking the lake with carp who are supposedly going to eat the green slimy algae while continuing to pour semi-treated waste water into the lake is not the answer. Nor is the addition of a few bubblers going to resolve the problem.

In reviewing reports from the remediation committee in Hamilton it is apparent that the water did not really improve with those types of measures. It wasn't until the waste water treatment plants were upgraded to purify the water before dumping it, the carp were removed and native plants were given a chance to flourish that any improvements were seen.

CV Lake is not the only place in Florida where this problem has been encountered, there are many other treatment plants across the state dumping water into the environment that is full of detrimental chemicals.

The problem of polluted catchment basins like the CV Lake must be tackled in a State wide effort. Century Village needs a leader who will voice the concerns on a State and Federal level and put pressure on the owners . Obviously our current administration lacks the will to do either. They seem content to spend residents money on band-aid efforts that so far have not shown much progress in cleaning up the algae laden waters of CV Lake.

The issue of chemical-laden waters ruining the lake was brought to the attention of the administration, but it was pooh-poohed by David Israel who is of the opinion that the chemicals in the water are naturally occurring substances and as such pose no threat. Mercury, lead and zinc are also naturally occurring substances, we know we don't want them in our water. High levels of chemical fertilizers are feeding the algae that is infesting the lake. Until something is done to remove them, which is possible with modern equipment, the algae will continue to thrive.

We really need a leader who has a good grasp of the issue and has the know how to tackle it in an effective way .

Let's get past the idea that stocking the lake with carp is a remedy. The real fix is to clean up the millions of gallons of water that is dumped into the lake .

Neil J. Moore