In the early '70s, all this began to end when the South Hadley Conservation Commission (SHCC) granted permission to the Massachusetts state Highway Department to dump all that problematic drainage waters from the Plains areas into the ravine in back of the Plains School ball field. Suddenly, one of the spring-fed brooks feeding the trout pond became the receptor for all drainage from the new Route 202 and 33 intersection, along with the surrounding neighborhood, streets and parking lots. That was a nefarious decision at best.

The 2-inch, 18-inch and 36-inch concrete pipes began to spew gas, oil, grease, salt, pesticides, fertilizer, etc. into a pristine wetland sanctuary...

Every time it rained now, both ponds would turn brown. Even during dry spells when the muddy waters settled, the ponds lost that clear, clean quality. They took on a permanent greenish tint. The upper pond began to fill in at an alarming rate but nothing was done...

The next tragedy to visit this wetland was when the SHCC did yet another study of regulations and order of conditions, and then allowed the town to dump the problematic flood waters from the South Hadley High School athletic fields into the empty upper pond, which found its way to the lower pond. Now the light green tinge in the lower pond water turned dark green from fertilized waters oozing in from the athletic fields, and when conditions are right, football size hunks of algae form. Much of the endemic fish population in the lower pond had died out by now...

Holding capacity of the lower pond had been destroyed from the thousands of tons of mud filling it in as a direct result of the SHCC letting the state dump polluted flood waters from the Plains area into that once pristine wetland area...

The Black Stevens Conservation Property has turned into a very empty place. No fisherman, walks, birds, squirrels or turtles are there anymore to speak of...

Photos Show: Man-Made Lakes and Stormwater Retention Systems Are No Substitute for Natural Wetlands
1 min 9 sec from the end of the presentation

"A sheen of oil covers a portion of the stormwater retention system at Towne Centre in Mount Pleasant. The system is designed to capture leaking motor oil, antifreeze, brake dust, fertilizer and other urban runoff from impervious surfaces such as pavement. Under federal guidelines, this pond is considered a man-made wetland."

1 min 1 sec from the end of the presentation

"A stormwater pond is filled with algae at Towne Center at Mount Pleasant."

0 min 53 sec from the end of the presentation

"Everett stands at the edge of a murky stormwater retention pond in Ivy Hall that Everett said was once a forest-lined isolated wetland. While the low grass held carnivorous sundew plants, the stump-filled water was largely devoid of visible aquatic life. 'This looks awful,' she said."

0 min 45 sec from the end of the presentation

"Everett points to a patch of algae growing along the banks of a stormwater retention pond at Belle Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant. Though the pond is aerated by a fountain, heavy flows of fertilizers can contribute to the algae's growth..."

0 min 37 sec from the end of the presentation

"A band of white pollutants and algae float at the top of a stormwater retention pond at Belle Hall Plantation. Though created to handle pollution and often full of mosquito larvae, this type of pond is considered a functioning wetland under definitions by the U.S. Department of the Interior."

Carlon Drive: Compensatory Wetland Not Working
Mike Kirby writes:
In Carlon Drive, they simply scooped out a hole in the swamp-bottom, and called it a detention structure. Today it is just a pond, and a stagnant smelly one. It was designed to have a dry forebay, and a shallow main chamber was supposed to have only about 6 inches of water in it. This was supposed to be a compensatory wetland, full of cattails and wildflowers. A rock check dam was supposed to hold back the "first flush" off the parking lots and trap pollutants, and outflow from it was supposed to feed the wet part of the detention pond. Here rain water pouring off the new parking areas and street was supposed to be stored, and discharged safely.

That was the plan. Today if you stand by the pond and look down into it, you'll see the check dam is now about two feet underwater. You can't even see where they planted the marshgrass and flowers. The area is under water. Even in a fairly dry summer, the detention pond is only about a foot and a half from the top of the bank. There's no storage to speak of, no discharge, no filtering. As it is constructed now, grey water from the parking lots and the access street goes directly into the swamp and the Connecticut River.

Alex Ghiselin, Letter to Gazette: "Don't let development encroach on our wetlands"
The failure of the storm water system built as a part of the Northampton High School renovation six years ago illustrates why protecting wetlands is so important. Silt has filled the retention pond so there is no capacity to slow a storm surge which now flows unimpeded into the Mill River and contributes to flooding downstream. This accumulated silt also raised the water table and spills ground water into nearby basements...

Without maintenance, these [storm water mitigation] systems are part of the problem, not the solution...

Wetlands do not need to be maintained; they just need to be protected.

Mosquito Control Practices Near Wetlands: Methods, Risks and Limits
Constructed (artificial) wetlands, built to manage and treat urban storm and/or wastewater, come in various formats; they may start out as simple vegetated pools but can develop into dense swamps. They have the potential to be more productive of mosquitoes than their natural counterparts, and must be carefully assessed for mosquito productivity and management...

Shallow vegetated water typically supports more mosquito breeding; deep pools with steep and deep edges, and no emergent or surface vegetation, provide less suitable habitat for mosquitoes.

Any wetland area, constructed as a shallow vegetated pond, will be a major concern for mosquito breeding...