Modellers Pond gets temporary clean-up
The infamous weed-infested pond in Tahunanui has had a summer clean ahead of it playing host to an international modellers convention.
When the Nelson City Council decided to go back to the drawing board to consider long-term solutions for the pond, it also agreed to foot the bill for a mechanical clean in the interim.
Society of Modellers president Nigel Gibbs said in October he hoped the clean-up would take place in November. The $50,000 job was undertaken this week.
Gibbs said they had about 220 modellers registered to attend their international convention being held at the pond from January 4 to 8.
‘‘We have more than 60 locomotives, and 10 to 15 traction engines, unfortunately we haven’t got so many people coming with boats because they didn’t think we were going to have the pond clean, because it’s been left until this late stage.’’
Gibbs said the cleaning process involved draining water before diggers removed sludge and weeds.
Contractors left the scrapings beside the pond to drain and dry out. He said that meant not as much would need to go to landfill, as a ‘‘huge cost’’ associated with the cleaning was disposing of the waste.
As to a long term solution, Gibbs said the council had a new option on the table but it wasn’t for him to reveal what they were looking at.
‘‘They are looking into something but at the moment it’s getting caught up in red tape, like a lot of the suggestions that have come about over the years,’’ he said.
He said early indications were it could work, however. ‘‘I know there is an idea there but whether it actually comes to fruition, I don’t know. I will believe it when I see it.’’
Modellers Society vicepresident Alan Malaquin was at the pond clean-up on Thursday and said they were looking forward to having it back in a usable state, ‘‘at least for the summer time’’.
‘‘Nelmac have got the diggers in just skimming the bottom off the pond and taking the weed and algae off,’’ he said.
The tide was expected to refill the pond over the coming days.
The Nelson City Council has struggled to find a workable solution for the algae and weed prob- lem after changes to the Resource Management Act banned the use of chemicals.
Earlier this year the council voted to fix the pond for an estimated $1.2 million by putting a new concrete liner on its base and regular flushing.
But after the cost ballooned to an estimated $1.73 million, the council decided to consider other options, including turning the pond into an estuarine environment.
Nelson City Council spokesman Paul Shattock said council staff were looking at a number of longterm options presented by ‘‘external parties’’.