Nothing says ‘welcome’ like pond scum

Nothing says “Welcome to Glencoe” like a holding pond full of green slime.
That’s what greeted Heat in the Street attendees recently at the Glencoe City Center. A similar pond greets guests at the east entry into town at Veterans Memorial Park (near Burger King).
It seems all holding ponds are not alike. There are retention ponds that retain water but never drain away. There are ponds that hold water and slowly drain out later. And there are ponds that are dry most of the year until the annual “monsoon rain event” arrives.
We have them all.
Some ponds are required to have a certain level of water that allows for weeds, reeds and cattails to flourish to help absorb the nutrients from the water runoff from nearby fields and yards. Others just sit there like another hole in the ground.
Not sure what ponds are being planned for the central part of town or with the Morningside Avenue extension projects in the coming years. But be prepared.
Back to the green slime at the City Center holding pond.
The pond, once used as a communal urinal by country western music fans during the inaugural Heat in the Street, at first was covered in reeds and other aquatic plant life. But last fall, the city trimmed back the growth and then some. The growth never grew back.
What was left is an eyesore. A naked holding pond that collected a lime green slime is not quite compatible with the fancy, $7 million, fully remodeled Glencoe City Center (old Henry Hill school building) and its landscaped lawns and parking lot. The holding pond simply does not fit in well in its current condition.
So I walked over to city hall recently and asked what happened. I was told the city was required to remove the aquatic growth because all that growth “reduced the capacity of the holding pond.”
Really?
So what about the ability of the aquatic plant life to filter the runoff nutrients?
The pond was not designed to do that, I was told.
Really?
So, what was it supposed to do?
Hold water.
Really?
Looking at the green scum on the pond, I suspect no self-respecting frog would want to be croaking in that mess. On second thought, a frog might croak in that mess.
Really.
Rich Glennie was the editor of The Chronicle for 23 years. He retired Aug. 1, 2014.