Lake Nokomis’ New Wetland Ponds: Landscaped Beauty Combines with Settling Action To Clean Up Algae-Producing Phosphorous
Called wetland ponds, settling ponds, or storm water detention ponds, these natural-like products of environmental engineering work by capturing contaminated runoff before it enters a larger water body. This allows phosphorous, (the main culprit in algae blooms and degraded water quality), to settle at the bottom, becoming nutrients for wetland plants.
The new pond sites have been named Amelia (the original name of Lake Nokomis), Nokomis Knoll, and Gateway after a comprehensive plan developed by the citizen-led Blue Water Commission, (BWC) to address water quality concerns for Lake Nokomis and Lake Hiawatha. The Lake Nokomis wetland ponds will be integrated into park landscaping, with each of the three ponds surrounded by distinctive wildflowers, grasses, and water plants. All existing trails around Lake Nokomis will stay the same.
Pond construction will begin fall 2000 with completion planned for summer 2001. Within the 200-acre park, 5.88 acres of wetlands will be expanded to 8.2 acres of wetlands, with a net gain of 2.6 acres. All three ponds will feature:
- Natural, carefully designed landscaping and pondscaping with 55,000 hand-planted native plants and plants started from seed.
- Three types of plantings will include aquatic plants, prairie plants and emergent plants. Highlights include Blue-eyed Grass, Yellow Star Grass, Prairie Dropseed, Cardinal Flower, Bottle Gentian, Marsh Milkweed, Yellow Coneflower, Joe Pye Weed , Meadow Blazing Star, Prairie Lily, Showy Goldenrod, Sky Blue Aster and Black-Eyed Susan
- A maximum pond depth of 6.6 feet
- Gradual drop off with a bench shelf declination
Amelia Pond
- Historic name of Lake Nokomis
- Most informal, wild prairie-style of three ponds with plant height ranging from two to six feet
- Will expand from existing 5.3 acre wetland to 5.46 acre wetland pond
Nokomis Knoll Pond
- Visual historical connection with Nokomis Knoll neighborhood
- Cultured garden-like landscaping to feature wet prairie plants two feet or shorter
- Will expand from existing 0.373 acre wetland to 1.4 acre wetland
Gateway Pond
- Landscaping to emphasize wetland plants two feet or shorter
- Will expand from existing 0.2 acre wetland to 1.33 acre wetland
