Two members of council are joining the Norwood Mill Pond Revitalization Committee to help in its efforts to clean up the village landmark and former swimming hole.

Reeve Doug Pearcy and Coun. Roy Millett will join Ron Scott, Jim Rodgers and Bill Duke on the committee, which was formed in November of 2005 to investigate methods of rehabilitating the mill pond off Highway 7.

“What I would like to see is the pond cleaned up mainly to protect our drinking water system,” Millett said during a recent meeting held to appoint committee members for 2011. “The main mandate should be to stop the geese and protect the pond as a water resource, and also to have a safe, clean park.”

The water quality in the Norwood Pond has deteriorated over the past 30 years, making what was once a popular recreation area unusable for swimming and other actives. The committee identified the Canada Geese living at the pond and runoff from surrounding land as the primary causes of high levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the water.

In its efforts to rid the pond of geese, the municipality has hired a falconer, passed a bylaw to prohibit residents from feeding the birds, and even considered purchasing special strobe lights to prevent them from landing. In addition, local volunteers, with the help of the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority, planted nearly 500 native trees and shrubs around the pond over the past two years.

The naturalization of the pond’s shoreline is intended to provide buffer zones and a habitat for animals, birds and insects that will, at the same time, discourage the geese from landing. The roots of the trees and shrubs will also help prevent runoff by filtering out sediments, bacteria and toxic materials.

The official purpose of the committee is to beautify the mill pond, and its mandate “is to return the mill pond to a safe, clean park, with swimming and recreational fishing opportunities.”

But Pearcy stressed the need for a realistic approach to revitalizing the pond.

“Their idea is to turn the pond back to the way it used to be, so it’s a public swimming hole, but that will never happen,” said Pearcy.

He said the pond is gradually disappearing as it fills up with silt.

“There is some recognition of the fact that we’re never going to be able to turn the pond back to the way some people want, because it will disappear eventually unless we make some changes. It’s filling up, and then there will just be a river there.”

via Pond clean up would protect drinking water – Community Press – Ontario, CA.