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Retention pond wildlife protection. #867638

Asked May 08, 2024, 5:24 PM EDT

Hello, I live in an HOA and a retention pond is right off of my deck. It had beautiful cattails growing and was a great refuge for bullfrogs. Other wildlife includes ducks, fish, and turtles. The HOA cut down the cat tails and put something that is brilliant turquoise in the water. The result is the bullfrogs and ducks left, and only some fish survived. I would like to protect this wetland, replant the cattails and prevent chemicals from messing the habitat. My question is could a retention pond be classified as protected wetland property?

Summit County Ohio

Expert Response

Hello,

Thank you for your question. 

Since a retention pond is man-made, it is not considered a wetland. A retention pond is built to collect stormwater run-off.  The sides of a pond are often relatively steep and do not slope gently like a wetland.

This is a link to the EPA definition of a wetland. https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/what-wetland#:~:text=Wetlands%20are%20areas%20where%20water,including%20during%20the%20growing%20season. Within this article are additional links that might be of interest. 

Also, since retention ponds are not aerated, they frequently become stagnant resulting in excessive growth of algae. Your HOA likely added an aquatic dye to the water to reduce the amount of light entering the water. Less light means less photosynthesis and therefore fewer algae since algae are plants. The link to the article from Michigan State, suggests that the dyes are similar to food dyes and do not harm wildlife.   https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/using_aquatic_dyes_in_ponds 

I hope this information was useful.

Sabine

Sabine Kuhn Replied May 09, 2024, 7:20 PM EDT
Thank you so much for the time you took to answer my question. Although the response was not what I had hoped to hear, it was extremely useful.
On Thu, May 9, 2024 at 7:20 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied May 09, 2024, 9:13 PM EDT

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