Popular Stratford pond gets new life after dredging removes excess sediment

The ducks and Canada geese are back on Moore's Pond in Stratford, P.E.I., now that the pond is again filling up with water after dredging removed sediment that's been collecting there for years.

The town applied in 2019 for funding for the project, which also includes restoration work at nearby Kelly's Pond, part of the same watershed.

Stratford's environmental sustainability co-ordinator, Maddy Crowell, said the ponds have been unhealthy for years.

Back in April, she told CBC News excess sediment at Moore's Pond had led to "abnormally poor" temperatures and nutrient levels.

"Development, … especially in this core part of Stratford, has been heavy in the past number of years to decades," Crowell said Monday.

"Any time you have a construction project and there's exposed soil for any amount of time, you're going to see runoff. And so that soil [is] just running downstream oftentimes into whatever water course it empties into — in this case, a pond."

Crowell said there are stricter rules in place now to prevent a repeat of what happened at Moore's and Kelly's ponds. That includes requiring developers to submit erosion and sediment control plans.

"We would review those and then we'd monitor to make sure that they're following those plans, and then we work with the watershed group here in Stratford to monitor the runoff from those sites," she said.

"It's an ongoing issue. I wouldn't say we've effectively managed it by any means. It's something that the province and the town and developers have to take responsibility for."

Many modern developments include storm retention ponds, or sediment retention ponds, to try to control runoff, Crowell said. 

"It essentially holds back as much water as it can for as long as it can," she said. "If you allow the water to sit in place, the sediment particles can drop out of the water and settle to the bottom, and then you can release the water off the top, which is cleaner and less sediment-laden than what came into the pond initially."

Besides soil and silt, the town wants to prevent chemicals and other things that can affect the ponds' health, such as salt and phosphorus, from getting in.

Crowell said it's exciting to see the progress at Moore's Pond, which is now deeper and — with the dredged material deposited along the banks — also a bit narrower.

"It's pretty cool to see open water," she said. "It's been pretty shallow and pretty limited in open water space for years now. We can get our plantings done, and really enhance the riparian zone.