After several days of trying, Ball State University contractors have found a way to prevent the pollution of a local creek.
Cardinal Creek, the stream connected to the Duck Pond, was being polluted by pond sediment. Workers discovered the contamination during a draining that was scheduled to remove several feet of leaves, soil and other matter from the bottom of the pond.
Jim Lowe, director of engineering and operations, said pumping water from the pond onto the hill next to it solved the problem.
Originally, workers had set up rock walls to filter out the sediment as water passed from the pond into the creek.
"This works under normal flow, but when there's a major flood, it doesn't work," he said.
Now, the water's gradual flow down the hill through natural grasses separates the sediment from the water so the stream isn't murky.
Rich Huyck, director of the Bureau of Water Quality, said his office had received several complaints about the creek earlier in the week.
"It smelled and was very unsightly," he said. "You could no longer see the bottom of the creek."
Though the stream seemed polluted, the sediment flowing into the creek isn't presenting any danger to local wildlife, Huyck said.
He said the Bureau of Water Quality tested the toxicity of the sediment - specifically, the levels of arsenic, barium, chrome, lead and mercury.
"We found that the concentrations - even though they're not what we would normally find - that they were not at the level that they would be toxic to kill the aquatic organisms," Huyck said.
The water building up in the Duck Pond is being diverted into collection points within the pond bed, then will be sent to the Muncie Sanitary district to be cleansed.
"There's a collection point at one end of the pond, and the water still looks dark," Lowe said. "That can be pumped to the sanitary department to clear it up."
Huyck said he was satisfied with the solutions Lowe and the contractors had made.
"I've been over there three times today, and there have been many modifications made," Huyck said. "It will still take the creek a while to clear up, though. There's a pretty good layer of solids."
Workers had begun testing the Duck Pond in November to check the levels of certain natural elements. At the time, some of the chemicals slightly exceeded residentially acceptable levels, so the university decided to remove several feet of sediment.
Lowe said he wasn't sure when Ball State dredged the pond last.
"I've heard in 1990 they took out a foot or so, but I have no history to tell me how long ago before we were taking out sedimentation," he said. "When you come out of that open waterway over the years, it's built up. It's three feet deep, full of leaves and tree bark and you name it."
Lowe said another problem was that the pond was only about two feet deep in some areas, which isn't sufficient for most aquatic life.
"We decided to clear it out, so that it has that depth, and treat the banks, so we can control the erosion," he said
Vegetation and artificial logs made out of coconut fiber will create a natural barrier to stop erosion on one side of the pond.
"We're installing big vaults that the runoff will go into," Lowe said. "Anything that will flow into them that's petroleum based will float to the top."
The dirt and sand will settle to the bottom, and the runoff collected in the vaults will be removed periodically.
A new pond, which was built as part of the McKinley construction project, will have grasses and natural vegetation to filter runoff and prevent erosion to avoid sediment buildup.
Lowe said he had expected to be finished dredging the Duck Pond in the next two days, but after Wednesday's heavy rain, it might take until Saturday. Improvements to the bank should be completed by mid-August.
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