St. Vital Park duck pond to get new design before $3-M rehabilitation in 2027

A new design is set to spruce up the duck pond at St. Vital Park, making it deeper, more naturalized and less prone to algae.

St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes said a design for the site will be completed this year, with construction expected in 2027.

“There are problems with algae and… the pond is too shallow. (But the pond is also) a landmark in St. Vital. We’ve got the pavilion that’s about 12 years old next to it, which has been very well-used. It just seemed appropriate to clean up the pond, to modernize it,” said Mayes.

The city has budgeted just under $3 million in 2027 to dredge the pond and naturalize its basin. Federal gas tax dollars are expected to cover that tab.

Mayes said the site is a popular “centrepiece” of the park year-round, with skating in the winter months, and has served multiple generations of Winnipeggers.

“I think it’s sort of unspoiled. There’s no commercial presence around the pond. The pavilion is well-used for everything from weddings to an organizing place for a lot of the runs that go through the park,” said Mayes.

However, the pond has attracted complaints about pollution, partly because it’s also proven very attractive to geese.

“The shallowness of the pond has become an issue. We’ve got (algae) growth, we’ve got a ton of goose poop going in there, so we do need to get the algae out, get the pond deepened and hopefully that will help us maintain a cleaner pond,” said Mayes.

Dave Domke, the city’s manager of parks and open space, said the pond has grown shallower over time, as organic matter builds up at the bottom.

Algae has also built up in many recent years, especially during summers with less rainfall.

“We’ve had a lot of years of a lot of algal growth.… We do get concerns and complaints,” said Domke.

A deeper pond is expected to help the water stay cooler, which is less conducive to the growth of that pollution.

The project will also partly naturalize the site, an effort that will reintroduce native plants. Domke said that should help deter some geese.

“You put a lot higher growth in the natural plant material and they can’t see predators as well, so that they don’t like to hang out there as much,” he said.

Mayes said the city will also spend about $1 million to pave roads in St. Vital Park this year. He said the park has received about $11 million of upgrades since 2011.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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