Pond dredging not scheduled for 5-7 years

Hidden Valley Pond
It turns out that it’ll be a few years before Hidden Valley Pond is dredged. Here’s the email from Brian Welch, Engineering Resources Manager for the City of Northfield:

Mr. Wigley,

We plan to dredge the pond just east of Heywood Rd (between Creek Ln & Sunset Dr ), that we refer to informally as Rosewood Pond. The pond near Hidden Valley Rd. is in reasonably good shape compared to the ponds at Rosewood, John North Park and Grant Park. Those three ponds will be addressed first, and then Hidden Valley and the two ponds near the High School (east of Division on either side of Washington St S) at a later date.

Given the cost of restoration for each pond we expect that it will take at least 5-7 years to complete the first three ponds (the are included in the CIP to be presented to the Council tomorrow night). Hidden Valley Pond would likely come after that, closer to 2018-2020. The current rate of sediment infill is low so we do not anticipate significant changes to the pond’s functionality in that time frame.

We have a meeting scheduled this week with the regulatory agencies (DNR, Corps of Engineers, BWSR, etc.) to discuss their jurisdictional claims on the first three ponds. The construction time frame will be governed by any regulatory permitting process we are required to complete. Once we have a handle on the permitting process we will hold a neighborhood meeting for the Rosewood Pond area. The John North Park Pond work will be discussed in conjunction with the road work planned in 2012 for that neighborhood.

TJ will likely be involved in the initial draining of the Rosewood Pond, but the dredging project itself will be run through the Engineering Dept. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Regards,

Brian

——-
Brian Welch, Engineering Resources Manager/Transit Manager
City of Northfield
801 Washington St S.
Northfield, MN 55057
507-645-3027

See: Stormwater Pond Evaluation and Prioritization: Assessment of Six Basins (PDF). It was prepared for City of Northfield on June 13, 2011 by Barr Engineering.

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Pond cleanup project to begin this fall

The city is planning on implementing the maintenance of the storm ponds this fall.  Luckily for us, Valley Pond is on the list of the first to be addressed.  A utility fee was assessed two years ago designed in part for the purpose of maintaining and cleaning up the ponds.

http://northfieldnews.com/content/pond-cleanup-project-begin-fall

According to Brian Welch, engineering resources manager for the city of Northfield, the Cannon River and the ponds that flow into it have seen a significant increase in sedimentation and runoff since then.

“We knew we needed to reduce the runoff levels to 1984, so we had to go back and look [at the Cannon River],” he said. “Now we know we need to cut the levels in half. We knew that a number of ponds needed work.”

With that in mind, Welch and his team have proposed a pond maintenance and rehabilitation program designed to return Northfield ponds to their original states.
In a plan to dredge the ponds and restore them to their original dimensions, six have gotten priority: Rosewood, Grant Park, John North Park, Hidden Valley and Sibley View (East and West). Rosewood, located at the corner of Heywood Road and Creek Lane, is about 10 years old and has about 29 percent sedimentation. It will cost around $58,600 to maintain.

Storm Water Ponds! Could this be us?
A blog post speaking of the anatomy of a storm pond.

City to conduct assessment of Hidden Valley Pond this week
Brian Welch, GIS Technician for the City of Northfield, has this update in Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski’s June 25 Friday Memo:

Photos: Barr Engineering surveyor

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And we have ducklings… It must be Spring!

On Friday, May 13th I got this note from Earlyne and Gene alerting me to the baby ducks spotted on the pond. We have all been waiting for the first sighting but none of us expected this.

Hi-In case you haven’t heard or seen them, there are 14 hiding in the grass just west of Myron’s(NE corner of pond). It is not a good location, with people and dogs going by on the path. Arlene was on their deck when I walked by today and pointed out that the parents had led them across the path to a bush in their yard and were hiding there. We talked softly and suddenly they were running across to the west, back to the grasses.
Very cute and tiny. Of course, I didn’t have a camera or phone with me.

So when I spotted them on Saturday, I ran for my camera but was not fast enough. I finally got a shot of them on Sunday but they move so fast… it took 3 different times for me to get them actually in focus. We have counted as many as 24 and as few as 21, so that seems to be in the ball park as to the number. With a little research, Mallards don’t usually have this many in a brood, so she must have inherited a few from another mom, poor thing. They are never in line and seem to burst on the scene when they appear. We have seen two other momma ducks, one with 3 and another with 6 ducklings.

Momma with approx 21 ducklings

Griff did a blog about them on Locally Grown.  Check it out.

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Birds on the Pond

I thought I would put together a group of photos I have been able to get of several birds visiting me this year. These are the times I wish I had a better camera and lenses. If you have pictures, please send them to add to this slide show. It would be good if you indicated what the bird is if it is not obvious, especially for those of us new to the bird watching scene.

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Hawk

I just about had a heart attack on Friday when this small hawk hit the windows in our living room. I have taken some precautions to make sure this doesn’t happen by putting stickers on all the surfaces of the bay window… but it didn’t seem to work for this little guy. All ended well as he did fly off and I can only hope he survived. I must admit I was ready to call someone to get some advice until he finally stood up. Here are some pictures, I know I probably will never be able to get this close to a hawk again and hopefully not under these circumstances. I think the conclusion on Facebook is that it is a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. You may have a different opinion.  (and just in defense of myself…  I took the pictures, even though it says Griff did…  he just wants all the picture credit around here) :roll:

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Are we killing our trees with mulch?

I just ran across this instructive video on the proper way to mulch around a tree.  We have quite a few young trees in the Association that may need to be checked.  It is a pretty simple fix.

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The Home Safety Council on Fire Prevention

According to the Home Safety Council’s State of Home Safety in America Report, fires and burns are the third leading cause of unintentional home injury and related deaths.  Fire safety and survival begin with everyone in your household being prepared.
Click here to review a list of guidelines and safety tips.

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Calendar for Future Board Meeting

Join us for a VPTA Board Meeting.  Everyone is welcome

Nov 9 Gene Moninger
Dec 14 Anne Krause
Jan 11 Jim Anderson
Feb 8 Susan Bauer
March 8 Leslie Selvy
April 12 Jim Pence
May 10 Annual Meeting
June 14 Gary Freking

A big thank you to all who share their homes for the monthly meetings.

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10 inches of fluffy snow: time for a new photo banner

AARRGGHH. Autumn has come and gone and I neglected to put up a photo banner for it.

Yesterday’s 10-inch snowfall, however, prompted me to take some photos last night during the height of the storm and again this morning when the sun came out.  The new banner is up!

Old banner:

New banner:

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Photos: Harvest moon over Valley Pond

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Photos: heavy rains fill the pond

Several inches of rain in the past two days have filled Hidden Valley Pond to the highest we’ve ever seen it… to the top of the stormwater pipe.

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Goodbye to the Willow tree

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With permission from the City of Northfield, a group of local lumberjacks took down the decaying Willow tree at the foot of the stormwater pipe at the southwest corner of the pond this week.

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More than a few perfect summer days

Clouds over Valley Pond Clouds over Valley Pond

Blue sky, spectacular clouds, a gorgeous pond.  Are we lucky or what?

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Photos: Barr Engineering surveyor

As Robbie wrote back in June,

The City has contracted with Barr Engineering to help the city develop a prioritization of stormwater ponds in need to dredging and other rehabilitation work to improve management of surface runoff.

A guy from Barr Engineering did his thing today.

Barr Engineering at Valley Pond Barr Engineering at Valley Pond Barr Engineering at Valley Pond

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Backyard acrobats

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The acrobatic squirrels in our backyard overlooking Valley Pond are both annoying and funny.

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