Hart’s Pond Fencing

2011

$8,147

$3,750

Located north of Naramata, Hart’s Pond has been filling with water from freshet sources every spring for many decades. During the summer the water is gravity fed to the Hart’s farm for irrigation with the excess flows continuing to Okanagan Lake where they discharge just north of a water intake. By the late fall it has emptied and remains dry until the following spring. While empty, cattle from the surrounding range lands were roaming through the pond area where manure was subsequently being deposited and causing water quality issues the following spring. When the pond water was tested for contaminants related to cattle manure, the results indicated that the pond needed to be protected from future ranging if water quality was to be preserved. The RDOS applied the practical and effective solution of exclusion fencing around the pond to prevent the cattle from entering while still allowing wildlife access to water. Through this project, the mitigation of water contamination benefitted the users of both Hart’s Pond and Okanagan Lake.