Residents say ‘neglected’ pond owned by City of Wilmington poses hazards

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Carriage Hills retention pond looks more like a weed bed than an body of water, and nearby residents say lack of maintenance is to blame.

Anthony Osticco has headed up the HOA more than a decade, and says he’s never seen the pond this green before.

“It usually only goes out six or eight feet,” said Osticco. “But this year with total disregard for what’s going on here, you can see what it’s spread to.”

The pond, owned by the City of Wilmington, is now filled with sediment from nearby runoff, covered in invasive plants, and eroding by the day. He says he believes the pond has been neglected.

“It worries me for the property values,” said Osticco. “It worries me for safety. Weeks ago we had a dog get loose and the ducks were in here, and he ran down that bank and got in here because he thought it was a field.”

According to Fred Royal, Wilmington’s storm water manager, a plan is already in place to fix the pond. It will start with removing the invasive plants.

“But what it does is, it takes over the entire surface of the water and it blocks the sunlight from coming through,” Royal explained.

The plants cover the surface and cut off sunshine and oxygen to animals like turtles and fish.

Royal continued, “The oxygenation levels go down, and that will kill organisms like fish.”

On top of that, a key pond outlet failed last year leading to more storm runoff. This exacerbated existing issues. Due to supply chain issues, the part won’t come in until Wednesday.

Less space in the pond because of an increase in vegetation means less places for storm water to gather. If unchecked, this could mean more flooding for the Carriage Hills neighborhood.

“It’s not only a water quality issue,” Royal said, “it’s a water quantity and flooding issue.”

The good news: over the next couple months, the city will begin it’s three stage plan to remove plants, dig out sediment, and fix outlets and banks.

The city will pick up a new water outlet tomorrow, then begin drafting requests to replace the broken outlet and start the process this week.

Royal asks all neighbors to lessen their contribution to runoff by picking up dog poop, limiting fertilizer use, and washing cars on permeable surfaces, like grass.