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I NONPOINT SOURCE SUCCESS STURY

Reducing Waterfowls Use of Cuddy Pond Results in Significantly
Lower Bacteria Levels
Waterbody Improved Anchoraee's Cuddy Pond is comprised of three ponds created from
daylighted sections of Fish Creek, which was listed as impaired for
fecal coliform (FC) bacteria in 1990. The Cuddy Family Midtown Park (Cuddy Park) is a 15-acre green
space in the commercial section of Anchorage, Alaska, which contains Cuddy Pond. In late summer
2015 the largest of the three pond's water samples were showing high levels of FC. Waterfowl
populations were exploding, mainly because increasing numbers of visitors to Cuddy Park were
feeding human food to the birds. By educating park visitors on the hazards of feeding waterfowl
and using fences and vegetation to separate people from the birds, partners have helped reduce
waterfowl-related pollution in Cuddy Pond. Water samples collected in 2017 and 2018 showed that
FC bacteria levels have declined significantly.
Problem
Fish Creek, one of the largest watersheds in the
Anchorage area, has a bacteria pollution problem.
Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) first placed Fish Creek on the Clean Water Act
(CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for FC
bacteria in 1990. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency approved a total maximum daily load in 2004.
The ponds in Cuddy Park were created from daylighted
sections (i.e., removed from underground pipes) of
Fish Creek, and until, recently, were the most polluted
section of the creek. Fish Creek flows in a westerly
direction from headwaters in the Chugach Mountains,
east of Anchorage, to tidewater areas in Cook Iniet.
Fish Creek's mainstem is approximately 4 miles long,
draining a 2,992-acre watershed. The ponds at Cuddy
Park are located in the section of Fish Creek that was
historically routed through an underground culvert,
designated as the Fish Creek Bypass (Figure 1). in the
1990s, a flood control measure was constructed in the
central part of Anchorage to remediate flooding prob-
lems caused in part by restricting Fish Creek to the
Fish Creek Bypass. As part of this effort, three ponds
were created in Cuddy Park to prevent flooding in local
neighborhoods. The flood control ponds became a
popular feature for park visitors. Cuddy Park's main
pond experienced high FC levels due to the presence
of waterfowl that were attracted by the park's green
grass, water features, and human food provided by
park visitors.
Figure 1. Cuddy Pond is in Cuddy Family Midtown Park in central
Anchorage, Alaska.
Story Highlights
DEC knew that a successful solution to the FC bacteria
problem would require assistance from partners. Using
DEC Alaska Clean Water Actions (ACWA) grant funding,
DEC partnered with the Anchorage Waterways Council
(AWC) to conduct an outreach program to educate
Anchorage residents about the problems with feeding
waterfowl. The outreach effort included designing
educational and eye-catching signs about the haz-
ards of feeding waterfowl (Figure 2). The outreach
campaign soon yielded positive results, including a
decrease in the number of bird feeding incidences.

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Even so, a more direct way to discourage waterfowl
from lingering at Cuddy Park was needed. DEC then
partnered with the Municipality of Anchorage to install
fencing and plant vegetation to separate humans and
birds. In the summer of 2016, the municipality installed
39 fencing units (6-foot-long lengths of plastic webbing
connected to upright supports) and planted 113 trees,
250 shrubs, 113 irises, and 13,200 square feet of sod
along the shoreline of the main pond. The educational
signs and vegetation barrier had a remarkable effect.
Ducks and geese still stopped at Cuddy Park, but,
deprived of easy access to human handouts, stayed
only a short time. This reduced the problem. By May
2017, the levels of FC bacteria declined by 260 percent.
Figure 2. This Anchorage city bus sign was part of a public
outreach campaign.
Using DEC ACWA grant funding, AWC conducted
a survey among visitors to Cuddy Park to measure
outreach message effectiveness. Results from the
surveys showed the largest source (over 50 percent) of
information about the problems with people feeding
waterfowl came from signs in the park, followed by 20
percent each from newspaper articles and bus signs
(Figure 2), This information will help inform any future
outreach efforts. Cuddy Park visitors can now have a
more enjoyable experience without having to scrape
their shoes before getting in the car!
Results
Because of the educational campaign and installation
of barriers, fewer waterfowl are polluting the pond.
Between 2015 and 2017, Cuddy Park's main pond
showed significant decrease in FC bacteria, from over
5,000 FC per 100 milliliters (100 mL) in 2015 to 122
FC/100 mL In 2018. Alaska's water quality standard for
all uses is for bacteria levels to not exceed 20 FC/100
mL and for not more than 10 percent of samples to
exceeding 40 FC/100 mL. Although Cuddy Pond has
not yet attained bacteria standards for ail designated
uses, the pond has undergone a bacteria pollution
makeover (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Cuddy Pond, before and after restoration.
Partners and Funding
The improvement of Cuddy Park main pond is a result
of the partnership among numerous agencies and
organizations that donated services, labor hours
and funding. Partners include DEC, AWC (using an
EPA CWA section 319 grant of $8,500 with an ACWA
grant nonfederal match of $6,816), Municipality of
Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department (using an
EPA section 319 grant of $30,000 with an ACWA grant
nonfederal match of $36,365), Alaska Environmental
Laboratory Services (provided $3,000 worth of
donated FC analysis services) and Youth Employment
in Parks, a program within the Park Foundation, a local
nonprofit organization dedicated to neighborhood
park improvement.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-18-Q01PP
November 2018
For additional information contact:
Jeanne Swartz
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
907-269-7523 • jeanne.swartz@alaska.gov

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