A giant sucking sound could be heard at Ferril Lake at City Park early this morning.
Denver Parks & Recreation folks have been trying for weeks to clean the lake of an algae bloom.
They’ve tried chemicals and rakes, and today they’re using sewer vacuums, courtesy of the Wastewater Management Division of Denver Public Works.
A release from Parks & Rec said an aquatics team will “corral” the algae using lane guards usually found in swimming pools to make it easier for the cleaners to suck up the algae.
A $28 million city project aimed at improving drainage and beautifying one of the city’s prettiest parks is suspected of feeding this massive algae bloom, officials said.
“It’s definitely something we’re trying to get a handle on and something we’re trying extraordinary measures to get rid of,” said Parks & Recreation spokeswoman Jill McGranahan told The Post for a story published Monday.
Ferril Lake is the crown jewel of City Park. It opened in 1896 as the focal point of the city’s premier park. The lake is named for the late Colorado poet laureate Thomas Hornsby Ferril.
The park underwent a major excavation, and the lake was dredged as part of a $28 million drainage-improvement project. The lake reopened last summer.
City Park administrator Helen Kuykendall told The Post that the drainage and excavation work are prime suspects in the algae bloom, but it’s a combination of things. Most algae blooms occur when excess nutrients in the water cause bacteria to bloom.
In addition to storm-water runoff from the neighborhood, the lake is filled with recycled wastewater. Nutrients, hot temperatures and little rain for two months combined to brew up the mess, Kuykendall said.
Algae blooms are risky because they can block sunlight and overpower dissolved oxygen. They also can strangle plant life and cause fish kills.
Thus, round three of the cleanup effort. Bring on the vacuums.
