Thanks for the update - What do you know about the lack of maintenance of the ponds
 

As you drive around some ponds are empty and full of ugly growth and some have green slime and going dry? Yet, I see they keep constructing more. If they can't maintain them, why are they building more they are not atractive.

Again, thanks for the info

The different areas of The Villages are unrelated when it comes to retention pond levels. The systems are not connected to each other. The northern systems are being used as designed - to water the golf courses and common areas, and are intentionally being maintained low, as they always are this time of year, in preparation for the summer storm/hurricane season.

Down at the new areas they are still being filled but very little is being used for watering the golf courses and mainly common areas as they're still under construction - because the area is still under construction there is less to be watered from the same acre-foot of capacity and the ponds are built first before the need for water is realized.

Something else that has been learned over the years is that the bigger ponds are easier and less expensive to maintain, have less level swings (because there's more water) than the smaller ponds, evaporation has less effect on the water level on the bigger ponds.

They are required by law to build a certain percentage of water retention and percolation based on the amount of impervious ground covering being built.

I understand the water levels, but that is not the issue. There are several ponds like the large one and visible on 466 that is full of slime and is not maintained. Is not the water level, is just not maintained no matter the level or the season it was clear. Now they are left to the elements among many others.

There was a nice presentation on stormwater management at the NSCUDD meeting this past Monday. Regrettably, I believe I was the only one in attendance who was not there in an official capacity.

Does that pond have a bubbler?

A pond near me has one not working, they are waiting on parts to repair.

You can try reporting here:


Bart Graham,
Water Resources Manager
Direct: 352.753.4022
Bart.Graham@DistrictGov.org |

Would you some cheese with that whine?

Crazy fisherman
 

I wish they would dig a big lake and have a marina with boat rentals. Heck, I would pay a fee to make that happen.

Sadly, this is often the case, most CDD meetings may have only 1 or 2 residents present unless there's a pet project someone wants money spent on.

You can blame the poorly maintained ponds on the contractor that was awarded the bid. They found out the hard way that it takes a lot of coin to maintain the ponds in the villages. So I’m assuming they’re skimping out on maintenance. It’s not always best to award the bid to the contractor with the lowest price.

The low water levels don’t help the situation. The water in shallow ponds are hotter than those big deep ponds. Add in all the fertilizer run off from the lawns and you have the perfect growing conditions for algae and submersed aquatics. Fail to maintain those ponds by treating the vegetation with expensive chemicals and you have the messy ponds that we have now.

The fact they haven’t built a marina with boat rentals at the big lake they’ve already made (Lake Sumter), tells me they’re not likely to do it anywhere else, not even at the new lake they’ve made in Eastport.