As many of you have noticed, the Taylorsville State Office Building (TSOB) pond on the east side of the building has been particularly green lately. We were curious about this as well, so we went to the experts to find out why we had a green pond. Here is what we found out from Chris Cox, Building Performance Manager for the Utah Division of Facilities Construction & Management.
The green ‘sludge’ on our pond is duckweed, a common pond weed that floats on the surface of nutrient-rich bodies of still water. In small amounts, duckweed is generally beneficial to the ecosystem of a pond. Birds and other wildlife consume duckweed, and it serves as a habitat for a variety of small aquatic species. Excessive growth is generally caused by nutrients and sediment entering the pond through fertilizer runoff and erosion.
To bring balance to our aquaculture, DFCM has added a product developed here in Utah called Natura Solve. Natural Solve adds beneficial bacteria and fungi to the aquaculture which has been proven to reduce phosphorus, ammonia, nitrites, and other nutrients that the duckweed thrives on. This product was added to the pond last year and was effective in minimizing the duckweed. The product has a demonstrated track record of being safe for use on fish farms, canals, ponds, lakes, and aquariums throughout Utah and the world. Here is a link to learn more about the product: https://naturasolve.com/
Chris Cox, Utah DFCM
