New limits on public use seek to protect The Pond

New measures are in place to protect the “jewel” of Rockcliffe Park: the neighbourhood’s famed swimming hole.

A former gravel and sand quarry, The Pond is an inviting place to take a dip in the summertime. Over the past decade, declining water levels have created more space along the shoreline, which — on warm weekends, especially — often attracts families and sunbathers alike.

New posts and ropes have now been installed on either side of the rocks at The Pond’s entrance to demarcate the small area of shoreline intended for public access. New signage also explains where the public should and shouldn’t go.

It’s a considerably smaller area than visitors have enjoyed in recent years.

The new measures are intended to balance the public’s access to and enjoyment of The Pond with the need to protect its ecological resources, said Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Tobi Nussbaum. “It’s such a special jewel.”

But its location in the Caldwell-Carver Conservation Area sets The Pond apart from other popular summer attractions, such as Petrie Island or Mooney’s Bay.

“(The Pond) isn’t intended to be a beach,” Nussbaum said. There are no washrooms, picnic areas or other such facilities one might expect to find at a beach. In fact, swimming is only permitted at The Pond between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m.

While some visitors may have enjoyed the expanded shoreline created by the lower water level, to others it was a worrying trend.

Last year, the city started pumping groundwater into the pond in an effort to shore up the water level. From the start of June until early September, close to 32,000 litres of groundwater per day were pumped into the pond using an existing groundwater well.

The city monitored rainfall and water levels in the pond, as well as water quality within the groundwater well, the pond and nearby McKay Lake. The quality of surface water in the pond and McKay Lake — which is only accessible to those whose properties back onto it — was “very good” when compared against provincial water quality objectives.

The study area experienced above-average rainfall in the spring and early summer, while total rainfall in August and September was consistent with historical averages.

Despite the pumping, the pond’s water level steadily declined by 1.26 metres last year. Pumping, the study concluded, had a negligible effect.

This year, water levels, which are typically higher in the spring, were low. As a result, groundwater pumping will continue.

The city will pump closer to 50,000 litres per day this summer, and extend the pumping season, Nussbaum said.

Some residents welcome the continuation of pumping, as well as the new measures to protect the shoreline from further erosion.

Keeping visitors to within a welldefined area will help preserve The Pond and give the plants and animals who call it home a break, said Iola Price, a retired biologist and co-chair of the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association’s environment committee. Digging in the sand is also discouraged.

“We’re trying to keep it alive and thriving,” she said.

The Pond attracts great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, green herons, double-crested cormorants, river otters, green frogs, snapping turtles, squirrels and all kinds of fish.

“It’s a place that’s got a lot of biological values even though it’s an old gravel pit,” Price said.

She and Nussbaum both say they are hopeful newcomers will obey the signs and avoid wandering to other parts of the shoreline, and that regular pond users will help spread the word.

“I think the message will get through,” Price said.