By:Hector Flores
Thanks to funds allocated by Nassau County and New York state, Bellmore's Mill Pond will receive a long-overdue facelift as part of a larger plan to restore bodies of water throughout the South Shore.
The pond, which stretches from Bellmore to Wantagh and is bounded by Sunrise Highway on the north and Merrick Road on the south, will be dredged and replanted, according to the Nassau County Department of Public Works. Walkways will be built and shorelines cleaned up.
Several areas of the northern portion of the pond will be dredged to reduce sediment buildup and better maintain the aquatic habitat. Plants such as spatterdock and phragmites, which have been choking the pond and interfering with stormwater runoff, will be removed.
The shoreline will be improved with the planting of freshwater wetland vegetation, which is more suitable for sustaining aquatic life.
In an effort to improve the health of the park lawn near the pond, pedestrian walkways will be added along Merrick Road.
Although the project is seen by many environmentalists as essential and long overdue, some fear that damage caused by stormwater runoff will continue if a pond filtration system is not installed.
ÒAs of now, everything that goes down a storm drain goes directly into the pond and settles at the bottom,Ó said Rob Weltner, a member of the local environmental group SPLASH (Stop Polluting Littering And Save Harbors). "Damage from stormwater runoff will happen again without a catch basin. Suffolk County already has catch basins that separate sediments, oil, gasoline and other contaminants from getting into their water.Ó
The Department of Public Works insists, however, that a filtration system is not necessary, since sediment and other contaminants from stormwater runoff are not whatÕs killing Mill Pond.
"Sediment is not an issue at Mill Pond," said Brian Schneider, a department hydrogeologist. "The issue with Mill Pond has been the vegetation. The pond is a link in a chain of ponds. The Twin Lakes Preserve, north of Sunrise Highway, acts as a sedimentation basin for Mill Pond. As a result, there is no reason for a water-filtration system. And as for floating debris, that is already being handled by the parks department."
Mill Pond's restoration is expected to cost the county approximately $1.5 million, one-third of which will be funded by the state Environmental Bond Act.
According to Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg (D-Merrick), this is the first time a project in Nassau County will use funds from the Bond Act.
Private companies will submit bids for the project in September and October. Work is expected to start in 2004.
The restoration is part of a larger project aimed at improving bodies of water throughout the South Shore. The restorations of Milburn Pond in Freeport and the Tanglewood Pond and Reserve in Lakeview are set to begin in four weeks. The restoration of Silver Lake in Baldwin will begin in early 2004, while facelifts for Massapequa Creeks and Roosevelt Pond in Roosevelt are slated for 2005.
"The county has taken the lead in making sure that stormwater runoff will now be monitored and, if necessary, treated before it can go into fresh water or into the bay," Denenberg said. "Most of what goes into the bay, in terms of stormwater, could have insecticide or petroleum, and adding that to the bay is believed to be a major reason for some of the clam beds' dying and lack of fish in the South Shore area. So this is a very important project."
