By Challis Macpherson

The Oxford Retention Basin is NOT a bird conservation area – it is a flood control basin. Without this Flood Control Basin, my house and several dozen others would be flooded about every 10 years. How do I know this? Because my house and a dozen or so others WERE flooded every 10 years (that we have lived in this house) before the pump went in and the flap gates were improved. Water came up to my door step three times in last 30 years. Oh by the way, the house down the street that Douglas Fay grew up in is one of the houses that were flooded – does he not remember that? I live in the immediate area of “Lake Oxford” (That is what we called area at intersection of Howard and Oxford that flooded) and would appreciate an increase in the capacity of the flood control basin.

I looked over the plans for the FLOOD RETENTION BASIN and they are just fine. We have been promised dredging for last 14 years. Finally happening. We need more area in that FLOOD RETENTION BASIN to hold rain water. Don’t interfere with dredging plans.

Birds
Another thing to address is “bird conservation” area. This was a Black Crowned Night Huron area for decades – they roosted in the trees and fished in the basin. Unfortunately for the Hurons, their call sounds like a stake being pulled out of thick mud. Human neighbors living next to basin didn’t like that and installed hyper frequency sound blasting to discourage the Hurons from their rookeries. It did. Egrets, cormorants and just plain ducks now dine in that basin. It is currently filled with toxic stuff drained from flood control basins. Not nice to do that to birds. Plans are to get rid of toxic debris – don’t interfere.

Animal Dumpers
At one time the basin was the private domain (about 3 years) of some do-gooders that convinced the county that birds and animals needed their tender care. Birds and rabbits as well as other animals were dumped there – especially from citizens that found out that cute, cuddly creatures grew up into not that nice or cute creatures. Rabbits bred (sur-prise), creatures proliferated and the place started smelling. Rabbits burrowed into sides of basin which compromised stability of basin edges. Water basin became full of feces. This was especially unpleasant to us downwind of the place. My family was one. I organized other households similarly downwind and we got the place closed to indiscriminate animal dumping and the do-gooders were kicked out.

Final note – we in the area have been promised for years (decades…) that the Oxford Flood Retention Basin would be cleaned up and dredged out. Current County plans are as close as we have gotten yet – don’t interfere.