Middletown Approves Plan To Clean Green Pond In Neighborhood

Sturbridge Pond in Middletown Township’s Langhorne section isn’t supposed to be green and covered with growth, but that is the way it looks.

The Middletown Township Board of Supervisors voted this week to award a $22,850 contract to AquaReel, of Jenkintown, Montgomery County, to restore Sturbridge Pond.

The funding was secured through the offices of State Sen. Frank Farry and State Rep. Joe Hogan, both Republicans, and is expected to cover the total cost.

The township-owned pond off Alberts Way has experienced years of deterioration and increasing stagnation.

The issue stems from a nearby spring that no longer adequately feeds the body of water, according to Middletown Township Department of Public Works Superintendent Eric Gartenmayer.

“The spring that feeds the pond is not feeding the pond anymore,” Gartenmayer said. “The only water that goes in there is the water from when it rains. It’s kind of stagnant.”

That stagnation has led to an overgrowth of algae, duckweed, and phragmites.

The township previously installed a fountain to mitigate the problem, but it required removal after clogging almost every other day, which created concerns that its costly pump would burn out, Gartenmayer said.

The public works leader said the pond had operated largely without issue for at least 15 years before the current problems arose.

The approved agreement with AquaReel has two phases: installing aerators to reintroduce oxygen into the water and performing an initial cleanup to remove accumulated vegetation.

Gartenmayer explained that the aerators operate like bubblers rather than decorative fountains. They will break down nitrogen and other compounds.

“You’re not going to do something like tomorrow or next week and it’s going to clear up in a week or a month,” Gartenmayer said. “This is an ongoing process that takes time.”

After the cleanup, AquaReel is slated to return approximately every six months to follow up on the pond.

Gartenmayer said the township’s public works staff can eventually handle much of the ongoing maintenance.

A Sturbridge resident asked why the municipality was choosing to invest in the pond when other bodies of water on township property remain unmanaged.

Gartenmayer responded that Sturbridge Pond is the sole pond under Middletown Township’s jurisdiction. It is different from the numerous stormwater basins the municipality maintains.

“For health reasons, we just can’t leave the pond that way,” Gartenmayer said. “You get dead animals, dead fish.”

Supervisor Ryan Leighton said nearby residents have brought the pond’s condition to the township’s attention.

“They live in a beautiful area, but they have this kind of gross pond right there,” Leighton said. “Especially since we have grant money to cover it, we figured this is a good way for us to be responsive to the desires of our community.”