Residents of Yuanlin City in Changhua County have called for the county government to put up warning signs and railings around a detention pond in the township after several children have fallen into it.
Since last month, the pond has been filled with rainwater amid the plum rain season and the water’s surface is overgrown with giant salvinia, or Salvinia molestaa, an aquatic fern.
A resident surnamed Kuo (郭) who regularly exercises near the pond said the ferns were too densely packed and looked like a broad patch of grass.
Photo: Yen Hung-chun, Taipei Times
On April 28, he saw a child run into the pond, thinking it was grass, Kuo said.
The pond, which is knee-deep at most, is only marked by a ring of stones and some trees, Kuo said, adding that the county government should put up warning signs or a railing.
The Changhua Bureau of Water Resources yesterday said that the extended rainy season this year has caused fern growth to cover the pond for the first time.
The bureau said it would send officials to investigate so that residents could be kept safe and a plan could be developed to use the area around the pond for relaxing activities regardless of the water level.
The pond is at the bottom of a slope, so it can accumulate and discharge water easily, the bureau said, adding that outside of the rainy season, it is an ideal place for sports and other leisure activities.
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