Repairs made at Willow Pond

WASHINGTON — Contractors have repaired a drainage issue at Willow Pond, the modest water feature along the Kewash Nature Trail at the western edge of Washington.

The area was barricaded off in April, according to Washington County Conservation Director Zach Rozmus, who said the pond needed work after county staff discovered a drainage problem several years ago.

“We weren’t retaining water at the rate that we should have been,” he said Tuesday morning. “We’ve hopefully got it rectified and Willow Pond is back open to the public, so hopefully we can take advantage of a little rain over the next few days.”

The repair process drained the pond by seven or eight feet, according to Rozmus, as contractors accessed and then repaired an overflow pipe in the ground.

The pond is a moderately popular fishing spot for county residents. And while the reduced water level may have had some impact on fish behavior, Rozmus said it hadn’t resulted in any kill-off of the aquatic animals.

“We were sustaining probably 15 feet of water,” he said. “Historically, Willow Pond has been a really strong fishery. It’s really close to town, we’ve always had good catfishing, good bass fishing in there … it’s potentially been affected by the water levels, but as of right now, (we’ve) not witnessed any fish die-off because of the construction process.”

DeLong Construction accepted the repair contract for the pond, which the company also helped establish several years ago. Rozmus said the bid came in at $14,030, though he expects the final price to be lower, since crews didn’t ultimately have to replace the overflow pipe, as initially expected.

While access to the pond is restored, the concrete destroyed in the repair process has been temporarily replaced with gravel. Rozmus said the county would pave the area later, once it could confirm the drainage issue had resolved.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com