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Pond Maintenance Schedules
Community Cooperation
The Hamilton County Surveyor's Office and the Hamilton County Drainage Board is requesting cooperation in the matter of discharges of dyes, herbicides and other legal chemicals from detention ponds into the County Regulated Drains.
During the summer months many Home Owner Associations, golf courses, and property manager use dyes containing copper sulfate and other chemicals to color the water blue and to kill algae and other unwanted aquatic vegetation. Frequently after these chemicals are applied we get a rain event which causes the dye to spill over into streams, ditches and rivers causing alarm among residents that see the streams turning color. Residents then call 911, the Health Department or other government agency to report this as an environmental emergency.
Avoiding Waste
Normally if these chemicals are applied according to manufactures recommendations they are safe to the environment but the concern that we have is that valuable employee time and taxpayer money is spent investigating the dye discharge to rule out a real emergency and in order to avoid this we are requesting that your organization or your contractor call the Hamilton County Surveyor's office 317-776-8495 prior to applying any chemicals into your ponds. Alternatively, contractors can send our office a schedule of anticipated application dates by May 1 of each year.
Alternatives
We are also requesting that ponds be aerated in lieu of chemicals whenever possible and to always use chemicals according to the manufacturer's directions. When excessive amounts of these chemicals are used they will kill fish, birds and other aquatic life. Such discharges are a violation of Federal, State and County environmental laws and property owners can be prosecuted.
More Information
We thank you for your assistance. If you have any questions please contact the Program Manager, at our office, at 317-776-8495.
The Hamilton County Surveyor's Office and the Hamilton County Drainage Board is requesting cooperation in the matter of discharges of dyes, herbicides and other legal chemicals from detention ponds into the County Regulated Drains.
During the summer months many Home Owner Associations, golf courses, and property manager use dyes containing copper sulfate and other chemicals to color the water blue and to kill algae and other unwanted aquatic vegetation. Frequently after these chemicals are applied we get a rain event which causes the dye to spill over into streams, ditches and rivers causing alarm among residents that see the streams turning color. Residents then call 911, the Health Department or other government agency to report this as an environmental emergency.
Avoiding Waste
Normally if these chemicals are applied according to manufactures recommendations they are safe to the environment but the concern that we have is that valuable employee time and taxpayer money is spent investigating the dye discharge to rule out a real emergency and in order to avoid this we are requesting that your organization or your contractor call the Hamilton County Surveyor's office 317-776-8495 prior to applying any chemicals into your ponds. Alternatively, contractors can send our office a schedule of anticipated application dates by May 1 of each year.
Alternatives
We are also requesting that ponds be aerated in lieu of chemicals whenever possible and to always use chemicals according to the manufacturer's directions. When excessive amounts of these chemicals are used they will kill fish, birds and other aquatic life. Such discharges are a violation of Federal, State and County environmental laws and property owners can be prosecuted.
More Information
We thank you for your assistance. If you have any questions please contact the Program Manager, at our office, at 317-776-8495.