Facilities

CSUN Pond Renovation

UPDATE

 

June 2, 2016

The project is wrapping up nicely, the turtles were released Tuesday morning. The upper stream has been turned on and is flowing beautifully. Earlier in the week the Electric Shop completed repairs on lights that were damaged in the remodel and the Plumbing Shop finished the connections to the last pump and autofill line, Logistical Services removed the 20 yard bin. The fences have removed and the Grounds crew has started the task of rehabbing the area; today they filled the last of the open trenches and have started cleaning up the landscape areas. We did experience an algae bloom in the large pond this week, this was expected given the warm temperatures, the amount of organic matter in the pond and the shallowness of the pond. It is anticipated to last a few weeks as the bacteria establishes itself in the wetlands. Pro Pond’s dosed the pond again with beneficial bacteria as part of this process. Work is coming to a close and we have received several positive comments from people passing by today. The ducks appear to approve of the end result as well.    

                    

May 25, 2016

The lower pond was turned on this afternoon.  Proponds is working to set up the wetlands and internal jets.    They are also introducing beneficial bacterial into the system to allow them to start growing and become established.    The ducks are extremely happy to have water back in the pond.

The Grounds crew will return to the north stream tomorrow and finish the fill line and last few feet of trenching for the 4inch line.  Proponds has continued the placement of rock in the stream and will be placing the pump this afternoon as well as general site cleanup.  The Electric Shop  installed and wired the disconnect for the upper pump.   If all goes well we can start the upper section on Friday afternoon.

         

May 20, 2016

The pond is starting to take shape nicely. Work was scaled back Thursday and Friday because of commencement activities but general housekeeping and prep work continues as we near completion. A vase water feature has been installed on the inlet side of the large pond. The Electric Shop has pulled wire and the main service panel for the area is now live, additionally they have started to pull wire to the point of connections for the three new pumps that will service the area. Work on the first wetland/waterfall has been completed and the second was started and is almost complete as of Thursday, each is approximately  25 x 10 x 6 with a finished depth of about 6 inches after gravel fill is added; these will be our main source of filtration. Jets and weighted hose have been added to the pond bottom to reduce dead spots and covered with gravel for concealment. The Grounds crew has started to back fill the trenches and final gravel and rock placement have started. We plan to start filling the large pond on Monday afternoon and most likely will start the pumps to the lower section on Wednesday morning. The upper stream is almost complete and should operational by Friday.

     

May 12, 2016

The PPM Grounds crew is running the water pipes for the inlets and Electric Shop bored under the side walk and has a sleeve for power and finished up conduit today.  They will also be pulling power into the new panel on Saturday that will run the pumps and upgraded filtration systems.  The highlight of the day was the delivery of 20 tons of rock and the 6ft deep hole we dug is now full and the stream bottom  is taking shape.   Construction of the northeast inlet/waterfall is also in progress.  Barring any unforeseen complications, the project will likely be wrapping up the week of May 27th.

     

May 10, 2016

While we still have a lot of work ahead of us we are making progress on the pond renovation. Materials are arriving daily and the Electric shop and Grounds shop have begun trenching for power and water.  The Plumbing shop completed  a 15x15x6 foot deep hole at the bridge yesterday.  Below are some pictures from the last few days.

     

May 4, 2016:

The pond renovation work is progressing well.  The entire lower pond has been mucked and is now a mixture of liner and clean rocks.  PPM and Pro-Ponds staff will be working on the upper stream and PPM Grounds staff will start trenching for the new water pipes on May 5, 2016.  The turtles are doing well and they enjoyed  three heads of lettuce today. No problems to report.


Originally built in 2008 by the University’s Physical Plant Management staff, the stream and pond pumping system struggled in recent years due to the build-up of sediment and organic material from the ponds animals and plants.  The build-up of sediment in turn caused the pond’s pumping system to often struggle, breakdown, and fail.  While occurring often, the ponds overall environment struggled to maintain a healthy water quality balance.  While evaluating many options and analyzing several solutions the pumps and water quality continued to degrade over the past 12 months it became clear that a complete replacement of the ponds pumping system was needed.

This project will replace and enhance the pond equipment and pumping system and include a more advanced filtration system, including controls for backwashing the pumps and filtration components, easier maintenance access for faster pumps maintenance, new input / output points around the pond for better water circulation, and new plant materials.

The renovation and upgrades should in turn provide a better environment for the long term health of the pond, ducks, fish, and turtles.

During this renovation great care is being exercised by PPM staff to ensure the safety of the aquatic life.  And upon conclusion of the project, new plant materials, fish and turtles will be returned to enjoy the newly renovated environment.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, this project should be substantially completed by the end of May.

Aquatic Life

Prior to starting the renovation, PPM employees consulted with Biology department faculty and pond specialists to create three areas to care for the birds, turtles, and fish during the renovation.  An additional aquatic area has been constructed and filled to support the waterfowl who have ducklings that are unable to temporarily move to other aquatic locations on their own during the renovation.

 Temporary Aquatic Habitat

     

Due to the overpopulation of domestic turtles at the pond, some turtles will be relocated by a reptile consultant to other areas that do not impact the native turtle populations in naturally occurring Southern California waterways.  This turtle population reduction is intended to create and stabilize a sustainable turtle population at the pond.  A shaded turtle enclosure has been constructed to house between 80-100 turtles that will be rereleased back into the pond after renovation.

Temporary Turtle Habitat

     

Fish from the Pond will be relocated to an 800 gallon shaded tank provided by our pond renovation consultant to ensure their safety.  They will be released back into the pond once it is renovated.

Renovation

The renovation includes significantly upgrading the filtration system and separating the existing single circulation system into two areas to support both the upper stream and lower pond independently.  The increased water flow and additional filtration should provide better water quality and oxygenation.  Once renovated, PPM Grounds staff will place sustainable plants for the area and we hope to reintroduce new goldfish, Koi, and other aquatic life back into the waters to balance the ecosystem.

 CSUN Pond 2008