Pond contamination

[Qweaver]

I recently established a small pond on my property.  The pond is fed by a spring the is located on my cousins property.  My cousins dish and cloths washers empty into the path of that spring and ultimately into my pond.  What can I do to to remove any effect on my pond? 

[coxy]

what is it doing to the pond/water

[Gary_C]

Through the warmer months our clothes washer dumps it's water on the lawn and it grows very good green grass. You need to convince your cousin to just dump the water on the trees and grass and not directly into flowing water.

[Ron Wenrich]

You can have your cousin pump it someplace else.  Or you can put in a diversion ditch that moves the water elsewhere. 

[21incher]

Where  I live they call  it  grey water  and it is  illegal  to dump  on the surface.  I think if it  runs  into  a wetlands as you have it is illegal  under  federal law.  Have them  build  a simple  drywell. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you discuss your plans to build the pond in advance with your cousins? How are your relations with them? What will the pond be used for? Do your cousins benefit from the pond (Can they swim, fish or picnic at it)?

    Whatever you decide I'd suggest you at least offer to share the cost and work to make the modifications as it sounds like they were grandfathered in (I.e You made the changes, not them) even if everything they are doing is not according to code. Sharing the pond with them will help encourage them to protect it too.

    Good luck.

[fishpharmer]

Qweaver, there are usually a lot of phosphates in detergents that can cause an explosion of algae growth, not to mention the other chemicals.  Dissolved oxygen depletion would be my primary concern if the pond is stocked with fish. 

Seems like the simplest solution would be to re-divert as mentioned or build a simple grey water wetland to "filter" the water before it reaches your pond.  First two links seem the easiest to construct.



http://inhabitat.com/everything-you-need-to-know-to-build-a-backyard-greywater-wetland/

http://www.peakprosperity.com/wsidblog/92991/how-build-grey-water-wetland

http://www.appropedia.org/Subsurface_flow_constructed_wetland_for_greywater

http://fiesta.bren.ucsb.edu/~chiapas2/Water%20Management_files/Greywater%20Wetlands-1.pdf

http://www.wetlandspacific.com/greywater-wetlands

[Ox]

Simple is good.  Dig a hole big enough for a 275 gallon fuel tank to fit in (fuel tank just a size reference).  Fill hole with stone (gravel).  Let gray water run in here.  Problem solved cheaply and efficiently.

[low_48]

Get them to use phosphate free soap as a start.

What occurs if detergents show up in freshwaters?
Detergents can have poisonous effects in all types of aquatic life if they are present in sufficient quantities, and this includes the biodegradable detergents. All detergents destroy the external mucus layers that protect the fish from bacteria and parasites; plus they can cause severe damage to the gills. Most fish will die when detergent concentrations approach 15 parts per million. Detergent concentrations as low as 5 ppm will kill fish eggs. Surfactant detergents are implicated in decreasing the breeding ability of aquatic organisms.
Detergents also add another problem for aquatic life by lowering the surface tension of the water. Organic chemicals such as pesticides and phenols are then much more easily absorbed by the fish. A detergent concentration of only 2 ppm can cause fish to absorb double the amount of chemicals they would normally absorb, although that concentration itself is not high enough to affect fish directly.
Phosphates in detergents can lead to freshwater algal blooms that releases toxins and deplete oxygen in waterways. When the algae decompose, they use up the oxygen available for aquatic life.
The main contributors to the toxicity of detergents were the sodium silicate solution and the surfactants-with the remainder of the components contributing very little to detergent toxicity. The potential for acute aquatic toxic effects due to the release of secondary or tertiary sewage effluents containing the breakdown products of laundry detergents may frequently be low. However, untreated or primary treated effluents containing detergents may pose a problem. Chronic and/or other sublethal effects that were not examined in this study may also pose a problem.

Read more: http://www.lenntech.com/aquatic/detergents.htm#ixzz4GKoClkXb