By Anonymous
Interactions
Mason Pond is a stormwater retention pond that was built in 1989 and serves mason through treating a third of the Fairfax campus’ drainage area, which equates to approximately 163 acres (Sustainability Map, 2022). Mason pond is also the subject of stormwater research with the National Stormwater Monitoring Project, and it has its water quality and chemistry tested on a regular basis. (Sustainability Map, 2022).
Resource characteristics
Stormwater retention ponds have been monitored and found to be beneficial not just to the hydrology but also the biodiversity of an area (Le Viol et. al, 2009). These ponds collect and store stormwater runoff preventing the surrounding area from being flooded. The ponds treat the water by allowing particles to settle, allow ion exchange of pollutants, and allow biological uptake of excess nutrients (GMU Facilities, 2022).
Governance characteristics
George Mason created and implemented the retention pond back in 1989, and it has remained almost unchanged since its creation (Sustainability Map, 2022).
Social/cultural/economic/political settings or related ecosystems
Virtually everyone, Students, alumni, and faculty, love Mason pond because it is a beautiful spot to take a picture at or go past on a walk and because of this it has a great cultural/social importance in our community. The pond also aids the school in maintaining water quality standards, which are very strict with us being in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and saves money from needing to implement other action plans or pay fines.
Current action
Mason planted trees along the hills next to the pond bank to help keep the soil in place. Mason has also started the “Necklace Phase One and Stream Restoration” project, which will renovate, clean, and restore the stream that will begin from the southwest corner of Patriot Circle/Aquia Creek and flow down into Mason Pond (GMU News, 2022).
What can we do?
I believe that mason pond would benefit greatly from introducing more wetland plant life and having more of a fluvial transition rather than a steep grassy hill for a bank. This shift would be beneficial for both biodiversity and cultural systems. The fluvial marsh like environmental transition would be more natural to biodiversity and provide the makings a real/natural ecosystem with sub habitats and niches and it provides more plant life to keep the soil erosion from affecting the banks and increase biological uptake. Having a more naturalistic pond with not only lots of plants and vegetation around the banks but lots of diverse plants will only aid in the aesthetic beauty of the landscape.
References
- Sustainability Map – University Sustainability. (2022). Retrieved November 9, 2022, from https://green.gmu.edu/campus-sustainability/sustainability-map/
- Le Viol, I., Mocq, J., Julliard, R., & Kerbiriou, C. (2009). The contribution of motorway stormwater retention ponds to the biodiversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates. Biological Conservation, 142(12), 3163–3171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.08.018
- Detention/Retention Ponds – Facilities. (2022). Retrieved November 9, 2022, from https://facilities.gmu.edu/resources/land-development/ms4/mcm5-post-construction-stormwater-management/detention-retention-ponds/
- Stream restoration on Fairfax Campus will create scenic pathway. (2022). George Mason University. Retrieved November 9, 2022, from https://www.gmu.edu/news/2022-08/stream-restoration-fairfax-campus-will-create-scenic-pathway