By Esther McKenna and Hector Flores
She remembers fondly how her son Adam, a New York City firefighter who died on Sept. 11, 2001, at age 30, spent hours on the pond as a child, walking through streams, playing soldier and discovering rocks with his older brother and sister, Jim and Lisa.
³There was a little overflow pond there, which used to be called frog city because it was full of frogs,² Rand said. ³Kids used to look at the frogs or play with them. In the winter they would even skate on it. They also used to skate on the big pond, but only when the sign said that it was OK to skate.²
Unfortunately, the pristine pond her children were so fond of has slowly deteriorated and is now overrun by weeds. But thanks to the efforts of Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi and county Legislator David Denenberg, a Democrat of Merrick, funds have been secured to restore the 54-acre preserve, which lies on the border of Bellmore and Wantagh on Merrick Road, east of Bellmore Avenue.
According to Brian Schneider, a hydrogeologist and 18-year veteran of the county Department of Public Works who has spent years analyzing bodies of fresh water on the South Shore, Mill Pond is the last freshwater pond in the Bellmore Creek system ‹ a series of interconnected ponds that run alongside the Wantagh Parkway ‹ before it hits the tidal boundary and becomes salt water. Discharge from Mill Pond empties into Bellmore Creek, which then empties into the East Bay.
Mill Pond has become infested with cabomba, a plant that is literally sucking oxygen from the pond and making it unfit for aquatic life.
Suozzi said, ³Funds for this restoration project were dedicated to eradicate noxious plant life and restore the aquatic habitat. This capital project is an example of government working together to preserve the environment while creating better services for our residents.²
Suozzi added that Mill Pond¹s restoration was spearheaded by Denenberg, whom he called relentless in his fight to bring Mill Pond back to its past glory.
Denenberg said, ³As our ecosystems are constantly changing due to the introduction of foreign species of harmful and invasive plants, I am very pleased that Nassau County is taking a lead to save the natural integrity of our waterways.²
The cost of the restoration project is approximately $1.5 million, and is part of a larger $3.8 million capital project to restore three South Shore ponds ‹ Mill Pond, Silver Lake and Lofts Pond in Baldwin.
Suozzi explained that the county has been grossly negligent in pond and waterway maintenance for ³30 or 40 years,² hence the expense of the restoration. He added that the capital improvement project was possible because the ³county¹s finances are in order.²
The project, which is scheduled to begin next month, will involve hydraulic dredging and cleaning, installation of vegetative bank systems to prevent erosion and removal of invasive plant species. Hundreds of plants, trees and shrubs will be added, and new walkways, benches and lamps will be installed.
In addition, one of the pond¹s pathways ‹ named after Adam Rand to commemorate his love for the pond ‹ will be renovated with asphalt and brick edging.
Once restoration is completed, the pond will reach a minimum depth of 4 to 5 feet, which will make it possible for aquatic life, including bass stocked by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, to thrive once again.
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
