\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMonchka and McAllister did the same with their two-year-old son, keeping him away from the water, which, as a nearby warning sign noted, had recently been treated with a pesticide.<\/p>\n
“We’re working from home, so we’ve been doing daily walks to the park,” Monchka said. “Even compared to last week, the smell has gotten a lot worse. I can’t imagine what July is going to be like.”<\/p>\n
Twelve aeration fountains in the city are not being turned on this year, according to information obtained by Councillor Janice Lukes (Waverley West), including three in Whyte Ridge. There are four in Linden Woods and one in south Tuxedo also on the list.<\/p>\n
Lukes noted there is a difference between a decorative fountain, such as the ones located in Bridgwater Forest, and a fountain that aerates a storm water retention pond. “Why are we turning on the decorative fountains, and not the ones that circulate water in ponds?” she said.<\/p>\n
Lukes filed a motion at the Assiniboia community committee meeting on June 22, directing the city’s public service to prepare a financial and environmental summary on the additional costs of herbicides and weed removal in storm water retention ponds in the 2020 season that are no longer being aerated due to fountain closures.<\/p>\n
Lukes said she has spoken with Coun. Scott Gillingham (St. James), chair of the city’s finance committee, about the monetary cost of these fountains.<\/p>\n
“This funding of $80,000 a year, at $7,000 per fountain, has been reduced from the Land Drainage and Flood Control Budget – which is $5,284,000 a year,” Lukes said. “I find it incredible that they cannot find $80,000 a year. And I know there will be additional operating costs if the fountains stay off for four years. For sure there will be damage to the fountain system itself.”<\/p>\n Although Lukes voted in favour of the 2020 to 2023 civic budget, she said there was no information available at the time regarding the aeration fountains. After contacting the water and waste department, she learned that, “The ‘fountain aesthetic maintenance work’ eliminated the annual installation, operation, maintenance, and removal of fountains at the storm water retention basins.”<\/p>\n “This essentially means those storm water retention ponds are going to go bad very, very quickly,” Lukes said.<\/p>\n The communication she received from water and waste also read, “This has no bearing on pond health or public safety. Yearly maintenance of the storm water retention basins including herbiciding and harvesting of aquatic\/land vegetation to maintain the aesthetic quality of the water and surrounding revetment continues.”<\/p>\n The issue also has Whyte Ridge resident Janet Jones fuming.<\/p>\n “Although the fountains are attractive, I feel that they have a very real and important function regarding keeping the ponds healthy,” Jones said. “Moving water means mosquitos don’t lay their eggs there, so (it keeps) the population down in our area. Aeration of the water keeps it healthier and reduces the algae that we are already beginning to see.”<\/p>\n When Sousa heard the fountains will not be turned on for four years, she worries the ponds’ water will become dangerous. “A couple of years ago in the North End, there were retention ponds where waterfowl died, possibly due to toxic algae,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t