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--> --> Commissioners to discuss upper duck pond improvements What: Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission meeting When: Monday, 7 p.m. Where: Ashland Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St. TV: RVTV Channel 9 Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission again will take up the issue of improving pond water quality in Lithia Park, this time for the upper duck pond. Crews previously installed a pump system in the lower duck pond to oxygenate the water and spur biological processes that help keep water clean. The pump also can be used to periodically drain the pond water into the City of Ashland's sewer system, where it will be carried to the wastewater treatment plant. The issue of water quality in the duck ponds came to the forefront after the park department's female swan died in February from pneumonia and a fungal infection linked to stagnant water in the lower pond. Since then, the male has been living in a pond at the Mountain View Retirement Residence in Ashland. Options for the upper duck pond, which is larger than the lower pond and lacks a concrete liner, include installing a device known as a Lake Restorer. The device, built by a Vermont company, resembles a floating island planted with vegetation. Roots and synthetic material hang beneath the island, providing habitat for beneficial bacteria colonies. However, the device could cost from $50,000 to $150,000, with no guarantee it would work in the upper duck pond, according to URS Corporation, a Portland consulting firm hired by the parks department to review treatment alternatives, city documents show. Among other alternatives, the parks commission instead could decide to periodically remove solid waste material from the upper pond, drain the pond water into the city's wastewater treatment plant and refill the pond with water from Ashland Creek for a significantly lower cost. The solids likely would have to be composted or sent to a landfill, while the water could require chlorination to prevent the growth of daphnia at the wastewater treatment plant, according to URS. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing