Cleaned pond lives

Jun 6 2008 by Martin Couper

PERTH and Kinross Council have stepped in to clean up the polluted South Inch pond where a number of ducks have been found dead.

A cleaning crew arrived at the pond yesterday morning to clear the algae that had covered the surface of the water.

The PA reported the state of the pond on Tuesday after Fair City youngster, Leah Alexander (12) found the dead birds that had become trapped in the algae and starved to death.

Leah claimed she was “disgusted” with how the pond had been neglected and criticised the council for failing to act.

She said: “We are all annoyed by how the council has let it come to this, even though we know that some people have told the council about the problem and that Councillor MacLellan has been trying to get the council to take notice.”

Officers visited the pond on Tuesday and believe the substantial growth of algae in the pond is weather related.

Yesterday the council explained that previous methods of treating the algae were no longer permitted and that they had been looking into alternative solutions. They confirmed however, that they were now in the process of dealing with the state of the pond.

A PKC spokeswoman said: “The council would like to apologise for the condition of the pond and stress that it is taking the necessary steps to remove the algae.

“Whilst we will do all we can to ensure the pond is kept clean, we would also encourage members of the public to dispose of their rubbish responsibly when using parks and open spaces as this can become a hazard for wildlife.”

The clean-up was expected to be finished by the end of day yesterday.