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WEEKLY MAINTENENCE

This luscious wetlands virtually remains green all year around. Relatively warm spring water warms the edges of the waterways supporting the growth of "swamp" grass even during the winter. All vegetation grows aggressively in those areas that receive more sunlight during spring, summer and fall.

In general, plan on maintenance to begin March 15th and continue weekly through November 15th (35 weeks). Although less mowing and trimming will be needed at the beginning and the end of this schedule, the extra time will be useful for "spring cleanup" and "fall cleanup."

YEARLY MAINTENENCE

In order to eliminate stagnant water and maintain good flow, all stream beds and drainage ditches should be cleaned up and dredged out at least once a year. Fall and winter are best as the ground will be drier for easier digging, not to mention fewer mosquitoes, no chiggers and dormant poison ivy.

FLOOD MAINTENENCE

Occasionally, the Kaw River will flood and cover the wetlands with several feet of water. A lot of floating debris will end up being deposited in the park area. The water plant discharge will tend to fill in Pond 1 with the precipitate catalyst byproduct which I call "pudding." There was talk in the late '90s suggesting the city would no longer dump this pudding into the river, opting to dry it out and truck it off instead, but that effort has apparently been abandoned.

If there is a major flooding of the area, count on many hours of work to restore the park and trails to their original condition.