The pond at Girard Park is covered with duckweed, and an Acadiana company has donated their services to try to clear it up.
Pristine Pond Solutions of Arnaudville is treating the duckweed.
Pristine Pond Solutions Fisheries Biologist Garrett Stamportis is leading the cleanup that includes using a safe aquatic herbicide to treat the duckweed problem followed by a natural phosphorus binding product to reduce nutrient levels, a release from the Lafayette City-Parish Government states.
The release says the owners are cleaning up the pond for free because they “believe it’s important to give back to the community and encourage the younger generation to come out and fish in Girard Park.”
The problem is related to folks who feed the ducks at the park, city-parish officials say. It's not healthy for the birds, but it also causes the severe nutrient overload in the pond, they say.
The long-term solution to prevent nutrients from overloading the pond is to install an aerator system, estimated to be installed sometime in 2024, the release states.
