Laurelhurst Park's pond clean up is murky

(Update:  It's been drained and it sounds like the sludge dredging is on schedule. ) I'm still waiting.  I'm tired of looking at this icky green sludge called water at Laurelhurst Park.  Not to mention that bogus temporary fencing and those threatening signs that surround the pond.  It used to be so pretty here.  If this is Sam Adams' idea of a "green" Portland it bites.  We should have the money to spend cleaning up one of oldest, most classic Portland parks if we have the money to build a new multi-million dollar "green building" downtown.

Why is the pond so gross?  Over the years it's become eutrophic which means that the oxygen content has been depleted by organic nutrients.  Eventually this results in a thick layer of sediment that in our case has reduced the depth of the pond from around 15 feet to about 18 inches.  Yes, inches.  In the spring the shallow water heats up and produces the dreaded toxic blue green algae which helps give the pond is pea-soup color.

The solutions:  Basically, the city is supposedly going to start dredging the pond this year.  Once the sediment has been removed, the water can be restored and better pumps may be constructed to improve circulation.  A few years ago the city tried adding bioremediating enzymes to dissolve the sediment but they decided this effort would take too long.

"Let's get this dredging party started" the ducks said last time I visited the park!  "We second it!" said the turtles.