As a long-term advocate and contributor to the restoration of the Teichert Ponds, I was attracted to the article about the dead fish at the site in Sunday’s (9-20) article. I had to see for myself.
What I saw was the usual seasonal large algal bloom (eutrophication). This was enhanced by the ever-increasing cattail growth limiting open water. This algal growth, enhanced by warming of standing water and nitrate and phosphate pollution from storm water, is probably more the cause of fish deaths than ash. It will be interesting to hear what Fish and Wildlife consider as the reason.
The outlet to Little Chico Creek is plugged. There is no above ground flow from the ponds. This compounds the problem. The outlet needs cleaning and the water flushed out thus lowering the temperature and clearing of the pollutants. A beaver-proof valve should be installed so that optimum flow can be provided throughout the year.
The source of pond water is largely through the storm drains from development to the east. The shallow aquifer under the ponds was ruptured during mining of gravel to build the nearby Highway 99E freeway in the early 1960s. The three springs that resulted along with a wet year filled the ponds rapidly. It’s doubtful that the breaks in the water table then contribute much water today with silting in. The ponds are filled mostly by storm drain water with minor contribution from the Chico Mall.
Certainly, the contribution of ash pollution to the problem should be factored into the solution.
— Dick Cory, Chico
The Link LonkSeptember 29, 2020 at 03:52PM
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Letter: Dead fish at Teichert Ponds - Chico Enterprise-Record
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