Mt. Hood community college panicked over pond muck

A mysterious pollutant has been noticed lurking in the waters of the campus pond by students and staff of Mt. Hood Community College in recent weeks. Reports of a dark brown substance in the water surfaced as early as March 4.

Pollution in the pond is a concern for the college because it flows into Kelly Creek, which is a considerable tributary to Beaver Creek. If pollution in the campus pond flowed through to either outflow, it could start affecting local wildlife, more importantly that of Beaver Creek, where coho salmon have been spawning since 2013.

Local environmentalists have been exerting considerable pressure on public groups to rehabilitate the waters, but pollution could hinder the creek’s rehabilitation. It could also jeoperdize the college’s effort to become salmon safe certified.

According to Mt. Hood’s Fisheries department, safe water levels in the pond would depend on acceptable pH levels, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and temperature. Each aspect plays an important part in hosting aquatic life. Cleaning up the pond would take considerable time and effort. Fisheries leaders said the body of water might “need to be dredged, and any polluted sediments removed and disposed of properly.” This could turn into a major project that the department won’t be able to handle on its own.

Nothing can be done until the pollutant has been identified. To try to determine what the substance might be, the Fisheries department has agreed to do a preliminary test. It collected multiple water samples at the beginning of the Winter Term finals week and has since been working to solve the mystery.

This week, the Advocate followed up with the investigation. After two weeks of testing, department staff were able to isolate a sugar-based compound commonly found in food sauces. This led to comparison testing of over 20 household sauces and condiments, which eventually yielded a result: The mysterious pollutant in Mt. Hood’s pond seems to be a gourmet marinade and cooking sauce. The Fisheries department estimated there could be tons of gallons of the gooey fluid in the pond.

While testing of the water is due to continue for several weeks, the sauce’s effect on aquatic life still is yet to be determined. Until the college knows for certain, all fishing, swimming, and cooking is prohibited in and around the pond.