Sonoma State is home to many beautiful ponds on campus, such as the North Ponds, and the Beaujolais Pond located in the residential living space of Beaujolais village.
Weeks before the fall semester started, students were sent out emails regarding the North Ponds Rehabilitation project as well as the Beaujolais Pond issue of deceased fish.
Sonoma State University Facilities Management informed students and faculty of the plan to remove 60 years of sediment buildup and return the North and South ponds to their original depths of six to seven feet.
Once news broke that new construction would be happening on campus, there was speculation among students about this lengthy project given the recent funding SSU received from the State of California.
“This project is purely funded as a maintenance project, and has no part in the new legislative dollars that were given to the university,” said Associate Vice President of the Facilities Management Leadership Team, J. Dana Twedell.
One student shared on SSU Restoration Ecology that the North Ponds were originally created for fire suppression, serving as a secondary water source. However, the ponds are now left in poor ecological conditions.
The condition of the pond was labeled not safe for the fish, urging individuals who fish in the pond to catch and release the fish, and to not consume any that have been caught in the water.
There is no solid plan of where the fish will be temporarily disposed of. Sonoma State Facilities FAQ’s page writes that the water contains several invasive non-native fish that are harming the western pond turtles.
Despite the condition of the pond, there are birds who frequently visit and swim in the water, as well as a variety of fish life presence. The fish located in the Beaujolais Pond are “non-native fish that are being disposed of into the retention pond,” according to Twedell.
Although the North Pond is closed for construction, surrounded by a net barrier, with completion expected by the end of 2025, there are still individuals who continue to fish in the water. A few individuals were even found behind the orange netting, to get closer to the lake.
