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Whats up with 21rst street pond? Its been closed for years. I did some checking and found out its managed (not managed) by ogden city. It seems to me that this pond has tons of potential for being a great bass fishery or even pan fish and cats. Brush basically all the way around it, 21 ft deep, primative boat ramp, right in town. Today I took the toon out there to try the new fishfinder. I seen tons of fish on the finder but W/O any experience with it Im not sure if they were false readings or not. There are paper signs posted at the gate that havent been maintianed for years so I couldnt figure out what they said. Historicaly what has been in there (fish)? Just a thought but it seems it would beat the pants of of anyother urban fishery in Weber county.
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They use to stock trout in it some years ago but they found a toxic substance in the water that made eating the fish dangerous. They said they would keep checking it out. If whatever was leaking into the lake cleared up they would open it again. I doubt they ever check it but I really don't know. WH2
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Toxic substance! Sounds like a perfect place to put bass and cats. lol[laugh]
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O.K. heres the low down I just read in the paper a coupla days ago. The water is polluted by latern fuel from union pacific ages ago. Well the city or epa or something like that said that it has to be cleaned up now.
union pacific wants to fill it in with dirt cause there tight wads, while the city wants it strained somehow or the other, but anyway either way U.P. has to foot the bill.
Anyway there gonna have a meeting on it in the near future and if theres enough support they will strain it, if not it might be filled in
Heres the article:
Wed, May 19, 2004
By CATHY McKITRICK
Standard-Examiner staff
[url "mailto:cmckitrick@standard.net"][#0000ff]cmckitrick@standard.net[/#0000ff][/url]
OGDEN -- The 21st Street pond, closed in April 2000 due to contamination, could be restored to its former status as a popular fishing hole if enough local people speak up on its behalf.
Next Wednesday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., representatives from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and Region 8 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency will host a public hearing to get input on various options for cleanup of the pond.
"The EPA prefers to remove the contaminated sediments while the railroad would rather cap them, which would make part of the pond disappear," said Eva Hoffman, remedial project manager for Region 8 of the EPA. "We'll both present our ideas at the hearing, then public input will be the deciding factor."
The alternatives suggested by EPA and UDEQ range from taking no action, which would cost nothing, to extensive excavation and steam injection to thoroughly scour the site, at a cost of $50.4 million.
Their favored alternative, which has a more moderate price tag of $2.3 million, involves excavation of contaminated sediment and withdrawing mobile wastes stemming from the old Pintsch Gas plant, which supplied fuel for gas lamps on old-time passenger rail cars.
The UDEQ/EPA option would allow for full public use of the pond again, while the railroad's "burial" technique would not.
Because much of the contamination is due to more than a century of railroad operations, Union Pacific Railroad has agreed to pay the cleanup costs.
"There's a difference of $700,000 between our proposal and theirs," Hoffman said. "Is the extra protection worth $700,000 or is it simply gold-plating a sewer lid? You want to do a remedy as needed without getting stupid about it."
Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey remembers water-skiing on the 21st Street pond as a teenager. The Ogden River Parkway will extend to the pond as it connects to the rest of the Centennial Trail system.
"We think the pond is an important feature along the Parkway, and we'd like to see it as a habitable fishery," Godfrey said. "When it gets cleaned up, it can be a tremendous asset to the community."
The public hearing will be held in commission chambers at the Weber Center, 2380 Washington Blvd.
meetings tomorrow wends. the 26 5:30 - 8:30 I'm gonna try to make it if I can.
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Years ago I would see water skiers on the pond and then I started taking my son and grandson to fish there in the evenings and we got alot of trout andbluegill. We had heard that it was contaminated. Which really didn't matter to me because I catch and release.It was a great spot to do a little evening fishing.We have really missed it. I think I will try to make that meeting, but things are a little crazy right know so I don't know if I can.
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Thank for the info. Im not one much for warmwater spec. But I think just about everybody here at BFT is. 2 hr on wed would be well worth your time to insure a lifetime of urban fishing opertunity. Besides even if fisherman dont show a lot of support for the clean up. Just a matter of enviroment. Especially water, the UP should remove the chem. Plus its about 15ft away from the Ogden river isnt there a risk of it polluting ground water. Is the meeting this today 5/26 or next week. You guys who care should really make it a priority to go show support. I dont even like bass ect but ill be there. If you need a ride pm me. lol
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The lake is a trout fishery and the meeting is today, in just a few hours, if that article is correct.
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