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Workers remove muck and mire in bid to de-botulinize the Public Garden Lagoon

By adamg on Sun, 08/23/2020 - 1:32pm
Scraping the bottom of the Public Garden Lagoon

Damaskin watched workers remove the gunk at the bottom of the drained Public Garden Lagoon today. When done, they'll refill the small pond with clean water that will hopefully end the threat of mass duck die-offs caused by botulism toxin in the water that had been caused, indirectly, by Covid-19 - by forcing the cancellation of the Swan Boats and their paddles, which normally would oxygenate the water, which inhibits the bacteria.

Neighborhoods: 
Back Bay
Free tagging: 
Wildlife
Ducks
Public Garden


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Comments

By Ari O on Sun, 08/23/2020 - 3:06pm.

Bring back the Swan Boats!

Maybe just don't carry any passengers. But hire a couple of the swan boat operators to paddle around the Lagoon several times a day, which would probably be a heck of a lot cheaper than doing this again. (Not that it helped in 1954, when there was a similar duck die-off, but no pandemic that year.)

Also, separating riders, outside, for a few minutes at a time, would probably be a pretty safe attraction. Waiting in line might be the worst part. So adding a couple of riders might be pretty okay. Can't be worse than, say, eating inside a restaurant.

The Swan Boats are a treat, and it's amazing that the business has gone on for nearly a century and a half, with the same family ownership, and that it still costs just $4 to ride.

By anon on Sun, 08/23/2020 - 3:20pm.

Floating fountains like DCR uses on parts of the Esplanade to discourage cyanobacteria would be a worthwhile investment. They could stay on all hours while the Swan Boats aren't operating to keep the water super oxygenated and clean.

By PerryD on Sun, 08/23/2020 - 3:10pm.

One of those pictures that you can smell...

By SwirlyGrrl on Sun, 08/23/2020 - 5:31pm.

This would be a good job for a N95 mask ... as this stuff dries it will become airborne exposing workers to deity knows what.

By cybah on Sun, 08/23/2020 - 7:19pm.

I was hauling away some plaster yesterday and I wish I had an N95 mask for that.

They really do block everything. The paper ones dont cut it for heavy dust.

By Will LaTulippe on Sun, 08/23/2020 - 5:41pm.

No time to wallow in the mire.

By anon on Sun, 08/23/2020 - 6:26pm.

Only a Crystal Ship will work here.

By adamg on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 12:00am.

We can only lose.

By Parkwayne on Sun, 08/23/2020 - 9:15pm.

It would still be gross like the one at Larz Anderson but less likely to be fatally gross. Just a water capacity thing?

By anon on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 6:50am.

Probably not deeper as precaution against the Houghton's Pond Effect (drownings).

By Scratchie on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 9:56am.

If I'm not mistaken, the Public Garden is where the landfill part of the Back Bay begins. So there probably isn't a lot of room to make it any deeper.

By anon on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 11:51am.

Going deeper might result in brackish groundwater mixing with the lagoon water.

By Parkwayne on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 2:50pm.

Wouldn't that mean we'd get a lagoon full of brine shrimp and flamingos?

BRB going to lobby the Parks Dept. to approve my Flamingo Walker attraction where a bright pink AT-ST type walker painted like a flamingo strides through the lagoon carrying tourists.

Don't @ me ornithologists and Wookiepedia editors.

By Former Westroxer on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 12:35pm.

Charles Street was pretty much the riverbank prior to Back Bay getting filled. Doesn't mean they couldn't make the lagoon deeper; they probably didn't because it wasn't meant to be anything more than an ornamental/recreational thing.

By Parkwayne on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 12:41pm.

The Garden is surrounded by buildings with basements much deeper than a 5' pond.

I assumed it was reduce the amount of drownings of incapacitated people.