Tara seeks fish for troubled waters

TARA PRESERVE — A bad smell coming from her backyard alerted Beth Bond and her neighbors about a pond problem in the Tara Preserve community.

The culprit is Chara, a type of algae that grows in select ponds in Tara Preserve. It emits a “musky” odor when crushed. Left untreated, Chara can take over host ponds; it’s just one of a range of invasive plant species and algae currently living in at least 14 of Tara Preserve’s ponds.

To control the overgrowth, Bond and the other Tara Community Development District supervisors on Feb. 24 unanimously approved a method that sounds fishy: Within six to eight weeks, wetland and pond maintenance vendor Aquatic Systems will install up to 1,046 grass carp in select ponds throughout the community. 

The fish will eat Chara and other aggressive types of vegetation.

“I can’t think of any pond here that wouldn’t benefit from having the carp,” said Jeff Whaley, of Aquatic Systems.

Carp will cost up to $7,322. Each fish  can grow up to 4 feet long.

Aquatic Systems will also install barriers to ensure the fish can’t empty into the Braden River. Barrier installation is estimated to cost $3,975.

 Despite the price tag, supervisors see the fish as an investment that will replace increasingly expensive chemical treatments and eventually save the district money.

Supervisors also approved the use of barometric mapping, which provides a glimpse of the bottom of the community’s 53 ponds to determine their health.

 “Our ponds play a huge role in what goes into the Braden River — a major water source for this area,” Bond said. 

 Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].