Ducks on sewer pond?

[HEChicken]

I know at first blush that sounds gross but....I've seen the mess ducks make of their OWN swimming water when it starts out clean and they quickly turn it into their very own sewer pond. So it got me to wondering if ducks can live on a sewer pond? Our pond is securely fenced per our county rules and since the ducks love being in water so much, and the pond is surrounded by greenery that they can also use for forage and bug-catching, I was thinking if it is okay for them to visit a sewer pond, maybe I can build them a duckhouse there and move them out there.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[Kevin565]

Though it may seem gross you do make a valid point. I see wild birds on them all the time and don't see any ill birds. Would you be eating any of their eggs or meat? That would be a major concern to me

 

[HEChicken]

Hmmmm....you also make a valid point. They are only 6 weeks old now but that was the ultimate goal, yes.

 

[70%cocoa]

What is a sewer pond? What kind of water goes into it and is the water treated first (e.g. in a septic tank or reed bed or something)?

If the water goes through a treatment system first then I'd say it's fine for the ducks to swim on the pond.

 

[HEChicken]

A sewer pond is what we have in rural parts of the US that are not on a city's sewer system, and instead of installing a septic tank. Household "waste" is pumped out to the pond (which looks just like a regular pond). The pond is quite large and in my area, county rules require that they be securely fenced, for obvious reasons. There are no chemicals used in treatment.

 

[HEChicken]

Haha - just noticed you are from Canberra. That is actually my home town and my kids were born there before I moved to the US with my American husband! I lived in Duffy and absolutely loved it! Unfortunately, "my" house (we sold it before we moved) was one of the houses burned to the ground in the bushfires in early 2003. My next door neighbour's house also burned and after they rebuilt, they sent me photos of both their new house and the new house built on my old lot, and they were so different as to be completely unrecognizable.

 

[70%cocoa]

HEChicken - so sorry about your old house. We saw all of western Canberra burning from our verandah in Garran. Horrific. I'm glad that you weren't anywhere near your house when it happened, but it must be awfully sad nevertheless.

So now you know why I don't know what a sewer pond is - not a term that's used here

 

[HEChicken]

No, that's okay - it was new to me too when I first moved over here. Even a lot of Americans have never heard of them, if they haven't lived in an area where they are commonly used. They are quite picturesque - until you know what they really are

 

[70%cocoa]

So, I am curious, is the water treated first, like by going through a reedbed or swamp or something? If something like that occurs, the water quality should be pretty good.

 

[HEChicken]

No, it basically gets pumped directly from the house down to the pond. DH would be better at explaining the mechanics of how they work than I can, and he isn't here right now. I know that the ability to evaporate is a big part of it so we have to keep growth down around the pond so air can move across it and aid in evaporation.