Niverville Council has decided to go ahead with a plan to plant bulrushes in Fifth Avenue Estates’ first retention pond.

Mayor Myron Dyck says despite aesthetic preferences the decision was necessary based on scientific studies.

“We’ve had the water tested, and what it has shown us is that we have phosphorous and something called blue algae in there.”

According to Dyck, the blue algae is especially concerning as it could cause health issues if ingested, citing young children and pets as potential victims.

“We had this study done,” explains Dyck, “and they recommended that bulrushes be planted, and as we’d seen in our wetlands with that project, bullrushes are a plant that does an uptake of some of these materials like phosphorous and actually helps to clean them from retention ponds.”