Cape Fear River Watch leads a tour of Greenfield Lake on July 5, 2007. StarNews file photo.
Q. Why don’t they have a dog park at Greenfield Lake? Are there plans for one?
A. According to Dylan Lee, a spokesman for the city of Wilmington, although dog parks typically have attentive pet owners that pick up after their pets, any uncollected pet waste would negatively impact the Greenfield Lake. According to UNCW annual water quality sampling, Greenfield Lake continues to see excessively high fecal coliform bacteria levels, primarily attributed to animal waste.
Improving water quality is paramount at Greenfield Lake. City Stormwater Services has taken various measures over the years to improve the lake such as installing solar aerators and grass carp.
Unfortunately, pet waste and waste from waterfowl continue to foul the lake because when it rains, stormwater runoff washes bacteria and other pollutants from the watershed into the lake, causing high fecal coliform levels, algal blooms, low dissolved oxygen levels, fish kills, and generally poor water quality. In addition, many migratory species of bird no longer migrate from the lake because they are fed a constant source of food by humans; this waste further compounds the water quality issues for Greenfield Lake.
More information about protecting water quality can be found at www.wilmingtonnc.gov/stormwater.
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Date posted: January 17, 2013
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