The City of Castlegar has reopened the most popular natural swimming pond at Millennium Park.
By City of Castlegar
All ponds were closed earlier this month due to above normal levels of E. coli resulting from increased geese activity in and around the ponds. The measures the City took to reduce E. coli worked and the City has met the testing guidelines for two consecutive weeks.
During the closure, two of the ponds accumulated algae, a naturally occurring water plant. It may not look pretty but it is not harmful to people and it does not indicate poor water quality.
“We are happy to be able to open the bottom pond but will keep the other two ponds closed for the remainder of the season,” says Operations Manager, Michael Gagnier. “The algae is an ongoing challenge and keeping the two ponds closed allows our team to investigate long-term solutions.”
The City regularly tests the water quality and submits the results to Interior Health Authority officials for review, following the Canadian Recreational Water Guidelines. The results are available at castlegar.ca.
One of the City’s strategic priorities is to create special places and recreation for everyone. As part of creating special places, the City is committed to building on its recreation assets, both built and natural, to provide recreational and cultural services. The City of Castlegar is a service centre in the West Kootenay. The diversified and growing economy is focused on the forestry, energy and mining sectors in the valley, and commercial services in the City. Quality of life features backcountry adventure and an increasingly dynamic urban culture, including the Millennium Park & Ponds and Sculpture Walk.
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