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

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.

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

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.

Stormwater Pond Rehabilitation Assessment

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.

Six ponds have been designated as the initial priority based on the presence of significant sediment plumes, vegetation growth, or deteriorating storm pipes: John North Park, Grant Park, Hidden Valley Park, Sibley View ponds (north of Jefferson Pkwy to the east and west of Washington St S), and the small pond to the west of Heywood Rd. between Sunset and Creek Lane.

The week of June 28 survey crews from Barr will be mapping the bathymetry of the ponds and determining the elevation of inlets and outlets to the ponds. State regulations require testing of sediment samples from the pond in order to determine whether special treatment is required of dredged materials. Barr Engineering will conduct the core sampling and testing in coming weeks. Once the pond assessments are complete a rehabilitation plan and schedule will be developed for each pond.

Funding for the pond assessments and rehabilitation comes from the city’s stormwater utility fund. The city will continually work through the inventory of stormwater ponds to ensure proper functionality of the ponds as part of the citywide stormwater infrastructure.

It should be noted that treatment of stormwater is the priority function of these ponds.

Metro storm-water ponds are chemical soups

By TOM MEERSMAN, Star Tribune
Last update: April 27, 2010 – 12:30 PM

White Bear Lake’s proposed ban on some driveway sealants is a first step in keeping contaminants out of storm-water ponds.  The local neighborhood pond fringed with spring green looks attractive, but its muddy bottom is loaded with contaminants.