Tara Preserve CDD approves fix for Pond 46

Pond 46 is set for improvements. 

The Tara Preserve Community Development District board of supervisors approved expending approximately $40,000 to convert 46 into a dry pond at today’s meeting.

The pond located along Tara Boulevard has been a source of complaints from residents. It is supposed to serve as part of the storm drainage system for the roadway, but it instead doesn’t function properly because of its depth. Instead, it’s been a trash collector and a scum accumulator, causing protest against the smell and sight. 

“It’s a source of mosquitos and scum,” said Supervisor Michael Dyer at a previous meeting. He also lives near the pond.

In November, the supervisors requested District Engineer Rick Schappacher to investigate possible solutions to the problem. 

He came back to the board during its Tuesday, April 26 meeting with a proposal to turn the water body into a dry pond. To do so, the pond would be filled above the seasonal high water line so that it will remain dry for most of the year, he said. It would only collect runoff storm water from very heavy rains. It can’t be completely filled because it provides attenuation, or the slowing of the passage of surface run-off into the rest of the drainage system, which is a part of the filtration process.

The conversion will cost approximately $40,000, he told the board. Before he can proceed, he must get a permit from Manatee County and from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The county has 30 days to review the permit application before its required to take action, but Schappacher said the permitting department has been busy lately.

“It’s something minor, so I hope they can do it fast,” he said.