MENDON, Vt. (AP) – A 7-acre pond that is a popular fishing hole and scenic location at the edge of U.S. Route 4 that is choked with Eurasian milfoil is going to be removed to prevent the invasive weed from reaching the reservoir for the city of Rutland.
If the fast-growing weed escapes the pond and reaches the reservoir it would require the extensive use of chemicals to purify the city’s drinking water and the weeds could damage the filtration system.
“It would be bad,” said City Engineer Alan Shelvey.
Officials decided the best thing to do would be to remove the 50-year-old dam that holds the pond in place. There are no plans to restore the dam once the pond has been drained.
“They looked at all these other things but after weighing the threat to the resource, the Mendon Select Board completely agreed with eliminating the threat,” said Mendon administrative assistant Sara Hebert.
But it could be years before the city can get the permits it will need to remove the dam.
Shelvey said the pond was built before engineers learned that shallow bodies of water can pose a threat to the downstream water supplies.
Once the pond is drained, the area would be restored to a wetland with a stream running through it.
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