07-26-2019, 07:03 PM
Since you are only expressing your opinion, and much of what you said is subject to lots of personal interpretation by people, you are not wrong.
I am a chemist/engineer by training and trade and years of that have made me a "show me the data" kind of guy.
Water quality testing date for chemical contaminants give the old pond a cleaner bill of health than many, if not most, Utah waters that look prettier.
Chemical testing of the fish shows no mercury issues, but an issue with an organic contaminant(PCB's). Merchants can legally sell salmon in their markets with comparable or even higher levels (of PCB's) than all but the carp in UL have been tested at. Are there contaminants, yes. The shrimp and tuna in the oceans usually have higher mercury levels, your call.
Decay/Smells, yes. Any body of water where there is vegetation exposed by the lowering water levels smells that way. I just returned from the Puget Sound area and every time the tide goes out it smells the same in areas with gently sloping shorelines and bottom conditions that promote vegetation growth. I don't lile the smell along the coast either, but I tolerate it.
Cesspool: More than it should be, but hugely better than just a few decades ago. I have seen no credible evidence that any of the local communities dump untreated waste or waste that doesn't meet current treatment guidelines into the lake. Is there too much "nutrient" contamination in the lake from those same communitites, yes! And we have increased algae blooms. Areas of the lake see ecoli warnings some years due to human wste material left where crowds gather and no facilities are present. Same thing happens at the edeges of Strawberry and Powell. Ocaisionally those lakes get brief or localized problems too.
Full of runoff: I can only hope! Runoff is the vast majority of what fills all our lakes. Does that runoff have more junk in it because of what we put in the streams as they pass through our communities, yes.
I do sometimes "defend" the old pond when people are getting/giving mis-information about things like consumption advisories or are the fish "safe too eat," but I don't disagree with most of what you said. I just feel that on a data driven level, it is still a good/safe/pleasant place to fish most of the time.
On the lighter side, I don't object really loudly to much of the publicity because I like the reduced utilization that often results.
[signature]
I am a chemist/engineer by training and trade and years of that have made me a "show me the data" kind of guy.
Water quality testing date for chemical contaminants give the old pond a cleaner bill of health than many, if not most, Utah waters that look prettier.
Chemical testing of the fish shows no mercury issues, but an issue with an organic contaminant(PCB's). Merchants can legally sell salmon in their markets with comparable or even higher levels (of PCB's) than all but the carp in UL have been tested at. Are there contaminants, yes. The shrimp and tuna in the oceans usually have higher mercury levels, your call.
Decay/Smells, yes. Any body of water where there is vegetation exposed by the lowering water levels smells that way. I just returned from the Puget Sound area and every time the tide goes out it smells the same in areas with gently sloping shorelines and bottom conditions that promote vegetation growth. I don't lile the smell along the coast either, but I tolerate it.
Cesspool: More than it should be, but hugely better than just a few decades ago. I have seen no credible evidence that any of the local communities dump untreated waste or waste that doesn't meet current treatment guidelines into the lake. Is there too much "nutrient" contamination in the lake from those same communitites, yes! And we have increased algae blooms. Areas of the lake see ecoli warnings some years due to human wste material left where crowds gather and no facilities are present. Same thing happens at the edeges of Strawberry and Powell. Ocaisionally those lakes get brief or localized problems too.
Full of runoff: I can only hope! Runoff is the vast majority of what fills all our lakes. Does that runoff have more junk in it because of what we put in the streams as they pass through our communities, yes.
I do sometimes "defend" the old pond when people are getting/giving mis-information about things like consumption advisories or are the fish "safe too eat," but I don't disagree with most of what you said. I just feel that on a data driven level, it is still a good/safe/pleasant place to fish most of the time.
On the lighter side, I don't object really loudly to much of the publicity because I like the reduced utilization that often results.
Quote:It could be the most amazing place in UtahThe unselfish side of me couldn't agree with you more!
[signature]