Village of Dunedin residents who paid premium prices for their homes with a water view, are angry over the condition of their pond.
The pond, located at the intersection of Anna Maria Avenue and Reading Road, is covered with algae and part of the liner has popped to the surface. They said the water level has dropped, despite recent heavy rain, and trash had littered the area around the pond.
Residents who live around the pond said sandbags have been placed on that section of the liner in an attempt to re-submerge it, but that has been unsuccessful.
Community Development District 9 supervisors on Thursday afternoon looked at photos of the pond provided by District Property Management and briefly discussed the condition of the problematic body of water.
Residents said a crew showed up Friday and picked up most of the trash, but they say the pond remains an eyesore and wildlife has disappeared. Broken plastic silverware and bottle caps were still on the pond’s shoreline Saturday morning.
A group of residents unhappy with the condition of a pair of ponds were recently on the agenda of Community Development District 8. The group later appealed to the Project Wide Advisory Committee.
Earlier this month, a group of residents in the Village of Santo Domingo were jubilant after persuading Community Development District 2 supervisors to put a $5,000 aerator in a pond nicknamed Lake Bonita. They had complained about algae and disappearing wildlife.
District officials say pond problems are not as easy to correct as some residents might believe.
They have said in many meetings that residents don’t always understand Florida weather and that permits, which regulate water levels in retention basins, are complicated.
At Thursday’s CDD 9 meeting, District Manager Janet Tutt said she is considering a series of roundtable discussions in order to educate residents about the ponds in The Villages. A few months ago, Trey Arnett of Arnett Environmental, gave a presentation on ponds to PWAC. Members said they found it informative and that the presentation might prove enlightening to others.
